Arkansas likely won't play on Black Friday in 2020
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Barring a late change, Arkansas will not play on Black Friday in 2020, a UA spokesperson told HawgBeat.
It will be just the third time in the past quarter-century that the Razorbacks will not be on the gridiron the day after Thanksgiving.
"Due to the unique circumstances surrounding the 2020 SEC football schedule, we do not anticipate having a Friday afternoon game Thanksgiving weekend this season," the SEC said in an email to HawgBeat.
Arkansas and Missouri are scheduled to play in Columbia, Mo., on Nov. 28, which is a Saturday. Even before the SEC switched to a 10-game, conference-only schedule, that was the date for the “Battle Line Rivalry.”
However, in recent years, the game has been announced as a normal Saturday game only to be moved up a day to Black Friday when CBS picks it up for that afternoon.
The network announced its schedule Tuesday afternoon, with six games already chosen and four additional “Game of the Week” slots. The unfilled slots are for traditional 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday games, though, and HawgBeat confirmed that CBS does not have a slot for the Friday after Thanksgiving.
Since 1996, Arkansas has played its season finale at 1:30 p.m. CT on Black Friday - with CBS televising it - every year but two. The only exceptions were in 2009 and 2010, when it was played on Saturday.
From 1996-2013, the Razorbacks’ opponent in those games was LSU, as the teams battled for the Golden Boot trophy. In 2014, Missouri replaced LSU as Arkansas’ year-end opponent and they play for the Battle Line Trophy.
With the adjusted schedule because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Razorbacks will end their season against Alabama on Dec. 5 this season. Until Tuesday, though, there was still a thought that Arkansas and Missouri could play on their traditional Black Friday date.