KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Tigers hope to play their first game in 21 days on Saturday when the team is scheduled to face the Gamecocks in Columbia, South Carolina.
“We need to practice well — haven’t played a football game in a while," Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz said on Tuesday during a video conference with reporters.
Last week, Missouri’s game against Georgia was postponed due to a combination of positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing. Drinkwirtz said that he’s “no Miss Cleo” so he’s not sure how his players will respond once they’re back on the field.
“We’re 18 weeks into the season and have only played five games, so this is not normal or new but this is a no-excuse league and we have to figure it out as coaches and players,” he said.
Drinkwitz said it’s important for the Tigers to stay healthy.
“I think right now, the way I have it, we’re at 56 scholarship players with one of those being suspended in the first half and we still have two test to go. I don’t know what our final roster number will look like. We are committed to playing this week,” Drinkwitz said.
On Sunday, South Carolina announced that Will Muschamp would no longer be the head coach of the Gamecocks. Within the following days, several notable South Carolina players have opted out of the remainder of the 2020 season.
Drinkwitz said he hates the circumstances for South Carolina and has a lot of respect for Muschamp. Even with all changes, Drinkwitz predicts that the Gamecocks will be ready to play and that Missouri needs to focus on their game plan instead of playing to who won’t be on the field or sideline for South Carolina.
“You know they’re going to have great energy and rallying effort for this staff and for Coach Muschamp and circle the wagons type game for them. Really, it’s about us and making sure we execute our job,” he said.
Mizzou and South Carolina have split 10 meetings in the all-time series, including the Tigers' 34-14 win over the Gamecocks at home last season.
