Georgia football's game at Missouri postponed due to COVID-19 issues for Tigers
NASHVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 07: A Georgia Bulldogs helmet during a college football game. (Photo by Jamie Gilliam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ATHENS, Ga. - The University of Georgia's football game Saturday at Missouri is postponed due to COVID-19 issues within the Tigers' program. UGA and the Southeastern Conference made the announcement Wednesday morning.
The SEC says a possible makeup date for Georgia and Missouri is still being evaluated. Since the Tigers already have a game scheduled for December 12th, there is a chance the teams play on December 19th, which is the date of the SEC Championship Game. Currently, the Bulldogs trail Florida in the race to represent the SEC East in the conference title game.
Kirby Smart addressed the COVID-19 positive cases around the conference when he spoke Tuesday night. At that point, three games in the conference had already been postponed.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart during the Bulldogs' game with Kentucky in Lexington, Ky., on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020. (Photo by Mark Cornelison) (UGA Athletics)
"We need a game," said Smart on Tuesday night, before news his game would be postponed. "We want to play."
Smart pointed out that many of the problems around the league owe to contact tracing. Even with a handful of positive cases, things like sharing a locker room and traveling to road games cause players to be in close contact. That can lead to players being quarantined for having close contact with a positive case, limiting the number of players available.