The Missouri Tigers won't play the final game of their 2020 season.
Mizzou was slated to face No. 15 Iowa in the Music City Bowl Wednesday, but after a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases on the team, the game has been canceled, MU announced Sunday.
The decision ends Mizzou's season. The Tigers finished 2020 with a 5-5 record in MU coach Eliah Drinkwitz's first year as head coach.
"I am disappointed that we were not able to finish the season against a tremendous opponent in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl later this week," Drinkwitz said in a statement. "I am extremely proud of the fight and resiliency that our players have shown throughout this challenging season."
The cancellation stemmed from an increase in positive COVID-19 tests among athletes, coaches and staff following the Tigers' final game of the regular season. When they played Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss., on Dec. 19, they had just 52 players available, which was below the SEC's 53-player threshold.
MU athletic director Jim Sterk said four rounds of tests had been conducted over the past eight days, and those results showed a rise in coronavirus cases. The football program has paused all team activities through Jan. 2.
"Our student-athletes have been extremely diligent in following all of the SEC's COVID-19 testing protocols since returning to campus back in the summer, and we are incredibly proud of their efforts to play every regular-season game this fall, as well as the success they have had on the field against a 10-game all-SEC schedule that included five games against nationally-ranked opponents, and in the classroom during the fall semester," Sterk said in a statement.
"However, this eight-day uptick within our program is significant and has made it impossible for us to play in the bowl game, which I know comes as a disappointment to our student-athletes, coaches and fans, who were excited about the opportunity to play a great Iowa team in Nashville."
It wasn't just Mizzou that was dealing with COVID-19 issues in the leadup to the game. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz tested positive a few days before the bowl announcement. At the time, it wasn't expected that the Hawkeyes would need to pause football activities, but more positive tests led to a five-day halt.
The Hawkeyes were back on the practice field Saturday in preparation for the bowl.
Mizzou isn't the only SEC to have its bowl game affected because of COVID-19. Tennessee dropped out of the Liberty Bowl, and Army slid into the vacant spot to take on West Virginia. South Carolina was supposed to play UAB in the Gasparilla Bowl, but it was canceled.
The Tigers completed a regular season that saw their schedule change on a near-weekly basis. Seven of their 10 conference games were affected by either postponement, a venue change or a schedule shift.
While teams typically need to win six games to earn a bowl invite, all teams were eligible for the postseason this year. MU was near the top of the SEC's pecking order because of its 5-5 record. Drinkwitz joined Warren Powers as the lone coaches in MU history to be invited to a bowl game in their first season.
It's the first time this season MU had a game canceled because of COVID-19. The Tigers moved their game against Georgia because they fell below the SEC's positional threshold at defensive line.
"This is the eighth time in 11 games we've been faced with a schedule adjustment, but we've been able to fight through and finish while competing at a very high level throughout the season, which I believe shows the true character of our team," Drinkwitz said. "We look forward to returning to Nashville to play in a future TransPerfect Music City Bowl, and experiencing all that this great bowl game offers."
