Dec. 19 can now be used for makeup games
The SEC is taking further steps to give its 14 league teams every opportunity to complete their respective schedules.
On Friday, the conference announced it will utilize Dec. 19 as a playing date for football games rescheduled during the 2020 season due to the impact of Covid-19, while also establishing parameters that will allow for the adjustment of game opponents as late as five days prior to competition.
So, what does this mean as far as Georgia is concerned?
Should the Bulldogs and Mississippi State not be able to play Nov. 21 in Sanford Stadium and South Carolina not play Missouri, Georgia could schedule the Tigers or Gamecocks (depending on whichever team is Covid free) since both programs remain on UGA’s schedule.
Currently, Georgia is scheduled to travel to South Carolina on Nov. 28 and based on today’s news, would be most likely to play Missouri in Columbia on Dec. 19.
Dec. 12 was already established as a makeup date, but Missouri will play Vanderbilt on that date after their earlier contest was postponed due to Covid concerns.
As of Friday, all games planned for November 21 will be played as scheduled.
All games currently scheduled to be played after Nov. 21 are subject to weekly evaluation in order to reschedule games that have been postponed.
“It has been a goal of the SEC to play a complete football schedule provided we maintain a healthy environment for student-athletes and everyone around our football programs,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement. “The added flexibility of a December 19 playing date for teams that do not qualify for the SEC Football Championship and the ability to adjust opponents on five-day notification provide a greater opportunity for our schools to play a full schedule of games in 2020.”
As you know, Dec. 19 is also the date of the SEC Championship. Teams that do not qualify for the championship game would be eligible to play games on December 19 that are rescheduled during the remaining weeks of the 2020 football season.
During Wednesday’s SEC teleconference, head coach Kirby Smart acknowledged that losing Saturday’s game at Missouri was a disappointment.
"Yeah, I think you always, any time you get beat or lose a game you look forward to the next opportunity. That's obviously the case we were in where we were looking forward to the next opportunity. That's not presented itself so the opportunity for us is to get better and that's what we're going to challenge ourselves to do today,” Smart said. “We've got a lot of young guys on the roster that didn't get spring practice, that didn't get fall camp, even. Those guys get an opportunity to get better. We're still relatively, most people are now days, a young team. But we get an opportunity to grow, develop, get better, and work against each other and have some competitive periods. I always say iron sharpens iron and we've got to do that."
The league also announced that it may revise the weekly football schedule up to 9 pm ET on the Monday prior to Saturday games for the purpose of maximizing the number of games available to be played. The games subject to rescheduling would only be those on a team’s original schedule and against opponents that a team has not yet played.
