Missouri updates its travel plans ahead of its game against Georgia
The No. 22 Missouri Tigers have a long trip to play the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens on Saturday.
But Missouri’s trip was not affected by the nationwide ground stop.
The team’s official X account said the team landed in Athens just after 5 p.m. ET.
Not every team got so lucky, as ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports that Texas, Tennessee and Ole Miss all had their travel impacted on Friday afternoon.
The SEC released an official statement on Friday evening amid growing concerns. “The Southeastern Conference is aware of the FAA’s nationwide ground stop and the potential impact on team travel for this weekend’s competitions,” the statement read. “We are in close communication with our member institutions to assess potential disruptions and coordinate appropriate responses.
“The safety and well-being of student-athletes, coaches, and team personnel remain our highest priority.“We will continue to monitor developments and work with our institutions to determine whether any adjustments to scheduled competitions become necessary.”
This will be Georgia’s first home game since losing to Auburn on Oct. 17.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart spoke this week about the team needing their fans to show up in support of the No. 1 Bulldogs.
“It needs to be impactful when we play at home,” Smart said. “It needs to be hard to play here. I thought the Oklahoma atmosphere was close to that. I think when you look across the board, and you talk to your peers and opponents in the league, you want to be one of the hardest places to play.
“I do think we make it hard to play because of the players we put on the field. But we’ve got to do the same thing in the stands in terms of crowd noise, impact, keeping it going for 60 minutes.”
Much has been made of the fact that the Bulldogs have not yet had a home night game this season. Since the SEC’s new television deal started in 2024, the Bulldogs have had just four home night games.
Georgia is 8-1 on the season, with the lone loss coming in Sanford Stadium against Auburn. If you remove that game, Georgia has outscored its four other opponents at home 212-50.
Georgia’s game against Missouri is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff, with ABC airing the game.