How cold will it be for Mizzou football's game with New Mexico State? Hint: Dress warmly
It’s getting cold in Missouri. It'll stay that way for Missouri Tigers football.
When Saturday rolls around for Missouri's game against New Mexico State, the National Weather Service called for a high near 35 degrees in Columbia, with a potential to fall to around 17 degrees overnight.
Theoretically, it could be an advantage for the Tigers, given that Las Cruces, New Mexico, where the Aggies are traveling from, has been in the 50s all week. Still, some MU players aren’t convinced.
"I mean, I guess,” safety Martez Manuel said. “But it’s still cold.”
Unlike New Mexico State, the Tigers have had to practice in the cold all week. They’ve had time to acclimate and players could figure out how they can try to stay warm on Saturday when they'll be playing well after the high temperature has come and gone.
Despite his personal aversion to the cold, Manuel did acknowledge it could help MU during the game, which will be played at 6:30 p.m.
“The fact that we do have days, and Saturday’s not going to be the first day where we don’t know how to handle this,” Manuel said. “We can start practicing now and know ‘OK, this is what I have to wear to play to my best, this is how I have to feel.’”
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During Missouri’s open practice periods on Tuesday, different players took different approaches to battle the cold. Some wore sweatpants and hoodies under their equipment to try and ward off the elements.
Others, notably wide receiver Barrett Banister, didn’t even wear arm sleeves. Manuel wasn’t having any of that.
“I’ve got nothing to prove,” Manuel said.
The safety had been trying all week to find the perfect clothing combination to keep him warm. On Wednesday, he put Icy Hot on his hands before donning latex gloves below his regular receiver gloves.
He also wore two sets of tights, toe warmers between two pairs of socks and layered up his torso with three shirts.
“And I was still cold,” Manuel said. “We’ll gonna try again (Thursday) and Friday and see. I will find the perfect method for Saturday.”
Manuel, who will go through his senior day on Saturday, has lived in Missouri since the eighth grade. Quarterback Brady Cook has been in the Show-Me State for his entire life.
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Cook said he also felt the extra time to adapt will be an advantage for the Tigers.
“It’s pretty cold out there,” Cook said on Wednesday. “I’m ready to go now for Saturday. I’ve had two days in a row... We’ll be ready. I don’t know what the weather is wherever they’re from. Probably not this cold though.”
MU’s quarterback said he didn’t have any secrets to staying warm during cold weather games.
“I need to find some,” Cook said. “Stand by the heater.”
Besides the players on the field, another element that could be impacted by Saturday’s cold might be the fans at Memorial Stadium. Eli Drinkwitz said on Tuesday that MU had scheduled its senior day for the New Mexico State game instead of the final matchup with Arkansas in the hopes that students will show out before Thanksgiving.
Still, if the weather is too cold, some fans just opt to stay home and watch the game on ESPNU. Manuel acknowledged that possibility.
“It’s gonna be really cold, we got to ignore that, we got to want to be out there and want to play,” the Tiger captain said. “Probably not going to have 60,000 fans in the stands, so we’ve got to bring our own energy. I think things like that will be super important for us.”
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: How cold will Columbia be for Mizzou football vs New Mexico State?
