SEC's coronavirus crisis: Alabama-LSU and Texas A&M-Tennessee games are pushed back after Auburn-Mississippi State was postponed due to outbreak
The SEC is the latest of college footballs 'Power Five' conferences to face a coronavirus crisis as top-ranked Alabama's game against defending-champion LSU on Saturday and No. 5 Texas A&M's matchup with Tennessee were both postponed because of the pandemic.
The SEC said Tuesday that the Aggies and Volunteers will be rescheduled for December 12, but the Crimson Tide's game against the defending national champion Tigers is in danger of not being played at all after COVID-19 cases in LSU's program.
Both teams are coming off their open dates and LSU already has a game against No. 6 Florida scheduled for December 12 that had to be postponed last month. The SEC said it would consider using December 19, the day of the conference championship game in Atlanta, to make up regular-season games not involving teams playing for the title.
LSU coach Ed Orgeron said related quarantines due to possible exposure have thinned his roster. He declined to get into the number of players affected by the team's latest outbreak
Alabama coach Nick Saban tested positive earlier this season, but that was revealed to be a false positive and he coached that Saturday against Georgia
On Monday LSU coach Ed Orgeron said related quarantines due to possible exposure have thinned his roster. He declined to get into the number of players affected by the team's latest outbreak.
'It's going to be challenging, obviously, with the guys that are out,' Orgeron said before the A. 'When they tell me we're at a certain number or something like that — we can play or we can't play — I think that's up to the league ... but for right now, we're playing Alabama.'
Alabama coach Nick Saban tested positive earlier this season, but that was revealed to be a false positive and he coached that Saturday against Georgia.
The SEC requires programs to have at least 53 scholarship players available for games. Mississippi State coach Mike Leach said the Bulldogs were just a player away from having to postpone last Saturday's game against Vanderbilt.
Texas A&M said it has three active COVID-19 cases, including two people who traveled with the team to South Carolina last week.
Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said the Aggies were undergoing additional testing and contact tracing amid hopes the team could return to campus Tuesday. He was confident that Saturday’s game at Tennessee will be played before the game was ultimately postponed.
On Monday, No. 24 Auburn's game at Mississippi State was postponed because of COVID-19 positive tests and contact tracing within the Bulldogs' program.
According to MSU coach Gus Malzahn, nine Bulldogs players and three staffers tested positive, although he declined to provide further details.
Alabama-LSU is traditionally one of college football's most anticipated games
In the American Athletic Conference, Navy's game at Memphis on Saturday was postponed because of positive COVID-19 tests at the Naval Academy.
Alabama-LSU is typically one of the most anticipated games of the college football season. Last year, the Tigers broke a long losing streak in the series and won a thriller in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, that propelled them to an SEC championship and national title.
This year's game was scheduled to kick off at 6pm EST and be broadcast by CBS, following the network's coverage of the Masters golf major. The pandemic forced the Masters to be postponed from April.
It's the second week in a row that Navy had a game postponed because of positive tests at the Academy and the subsequent quarantine of student-athletes. The Midshipmen were scheduled to host Tulsa last weekend before that game was called off.
Navy has not been on the field since November 2 and has not had a regular practice since October 29.
The American has not announced potential makeup dates for Saturday's game or the Tulsa-Navy game. Memphis and Navy do not share a common open date through the rest of the season.
Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said the Aggies were undergoing additional testing and contact tracing amid hopes the team could return to campus Tuesday. He was confident that Saturday’s game at Tennessee will be played before the game was ultimately postponed.