Details for Saturday's game against LSU
As was initially reported on Tuesday evening, the Southeastern Conference announced this morning that Mizzou's game against LSU has been moved to Columbia. The teams were supposed to play at 8 p.m. Saturday in Baton Rouge, but that has been changed to an 11 a.m. kickoff at Faurot Field due to the threat of Hurricane Delta in Louisiana.
“Due to the pending impact of Hurricane Delta on Louisiana and the surrounding area, it is in the best interest for the safety of everyone involved to move the game to Columbia,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement. “It was critical to relocate the game to an SEC campus where SEC COVID-19 management protocols are in place and readily applied. I appreciate the cooperation of the schools who are working closely to make the appropriate operational adjustments in order to prioritize the health and safety of our student-athletes while accommodating this change in the schedule.”
The game was originally to be televised on ESPN. That network has Florida and Texas A&M in the 11 a.m. time slot. The SEC said that the Missouri/LSU game will be televised "on an ESPN platform to be determined."
While the game is being played in Columbia, it is still technically an LSU home game. Missouri will host fans for the game. Attendance for the Alabama game was capped at 11,700, about 18% of Memorial Stadium's capacity and those figures remain in place.
Asked about the kickoff time being moved from 8 p.m. to 11 a.m., LSU head coach Ed Orgeron said on the SEC teleconference the change will be easier on the LSU players, who now have to travel for games three weekends in a row. Playing earlier in the day will allow the LSU team to return to Baton Rouge Saturday night, weather permitting.
"I do believe that it would have been very difficult to plan an 8 o'clock game and travel back and come back Sunday morning at 4 o'clock," Orgeron said. "It takes two days to recover. ... We play an 11 o'clock game, we're going to be back in Baton Rouge around 6 or 7 o'clock at night. I think our team and our coaches will get more rest."
Mizzou announced that season ticket holders can claim tickets for Saturday's game through their MyMizzou account. Tickets must be claimed by Thursday at 2 p.m. and any season ticket holder wanting to attend the game must purchase the full number of tickets they have been allotted for the season. Any tickets not claimed by the Thursday deadline will be available for purchase to the public on Friday morning at 9 a.m.
"We have been working with the SEC and LSU since Monday when it became apparent that Hurricane Delta could disrupt this weekend's game, and made it known that we would be glad to host the game if it would help out LSU and the Baton Rouge community," Mizzou Director of Athletics Jim Sterk said in a statement. "While both Mizzou and LSU shared a common open date next month, getting the game played on its scheduled date was important because of the week to week uncertainty surrounding potential COVID-19 disruptions down the road. Our thoughts during this difficult time are with all of those in Louisiana and throughout the Gulf region as they prepare for Hurricane Delta in the upcoming days."