Report: Music City Bowl between Iowa-Missouri “unlikely” to happen

Due to an uptick in coronavirus numbers in the Missouri program, the 2020 season is likely over for Iowa football.

One of the weirdest college football seasons in history just got even weirder for the Iowa Hawkeyes, which could have its bowl game canceled due to the coronavirus.

According to multiple reports, the Music City Bowl featuring Iowa and Missouri is “highly unlikely” to happen at this point after a rise in COVID-19 cases in the Mizzou program.

The Music City Bowl is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, Dec. 30, at 3:00 pm CT on ESPN.

If the bowl game were to be canceled, Iowa would end the season with six straight wins after starting 0-2. The 15th ranked Hawkeyes (6-2) haven’t played since Dec. 12 in a 28-7 win over Wisconsin.

The Hawkeyes dealt with a small outbreak of their own and put a pause on all team activities from Dec. 21 through Dec. 26. Head coach Kirk Ferentz tested positive for the virus last week and has since been isolating at home.

Missouri resumed practicing on Saturday after having the holidays off.

Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras does not seem happy about the news, stating in a tweet, “We stayed in town through a pause in activities, missed Christmas with our families. Let’s play this game.”

It is not yet known how many positive cases Missouri is dealing with at the moment. For a team sitting with a 5-5 record, it’s hard to imagine Mizzou would want to follow through with the bowl game, especially with little financial incentive.

If the Music City Bowl were to be canceled, Iowa would almost certainly end the season in the AP top 25 for the third straight season.