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The SEC has yet to announce whether it will be Saturday’s postponed game between Alabama and LSU, and if so, when that game will be played.
Speaking Thursday night on his weekly radio show, Nick Saban said his team are preparing for the possibility that the remaining schedule – games against Kentucky (Nov. 21), Auburn (Nov. 28) and Arkansas (5 December) – could be changed.
“We’ve had the opportunity to train against everyone to some extent that we’re going to play to end the season,” he said. “In doing so, if our schedule changed for some reason, we would probably be nimble enough to be able to change what we need to do to prepare our team.”
Alabama do not have a scheduled opponent on December 12, which was intended as the SEC catch-up date ahead of the SEC Championship game on December 19. LSU is set to make up its game against Florida on December 12, which means the conference would likely have to shift one of Alabama’s three remaining scheduled games to December 12 in order to play Alabama-LSU on an earlier date.
“We can’t control what other people are doing. We can’t control the timing. We can control what we do. So whoever we play, every time we play, we’re going to be ready to go, ”Saban said. “We try to keep the players in a rhythm and a routine that won’t hurt us too much that we haven’t played for a few weeks. We look forward to the opportunity to play and hope that this opportunity arises this coming week.
Saban said the Alabama players were “really looking forward” to playing LSU this week and that they were “all disappointed” that the game in Baton Rouge did not go as planned due to the COVID-19 infections and contact tracing at LSU.
“I hate it for the players from the point of view that it delays the season,” Saban said. “We still have to practice this week, and now we don’t have a game. There will be another game at some point in the time that they have to train. You just have to be positive about it.
Alabama (6-0) just left their week off last week and will now be inactive for consecutive weeks in season for the first time since 1978. Saban said he would have treated this week as a week off. if the team had played last time. Saturday; instead, he continued to practice normally this week.
The Tide trained Monday through Thursday and will be training again on Saturday instead of playing a game. This session will focus on Kentucky, followed by typical film meetings on Sunday.
“We’re not doing anything different from what we normally would, and we don’t want players to do anything different than they normally would,” said Saban.
Postponements due to COVID-19 hit college football hard this week, with four of seven SEC games canceled as well as Ohio State’s No.3 game against Maryland.
Alabama, which has not seen any notable players miss games due to COVID-19 this season, had only one positive test earlier this week, Saban said on Wednesday.
Saban wants virus problems occurring elsewhere to stay away from his apartment building.
“Our guys have been really good about it,” he said Thursday night. “What I tried to point out to the players today is that people have problems because they become complacent and relaxed about social distancing and taking care of their personal bubble. This is where all of this has a problem.
“The thing that could turn our season upside down, as much as any opponent we play, is that we don’t pay attention to the details and are lax and relaxed about what you need to do to stay safe in your area. personal bubble. Because if you don’t do that you get a split in our team, it will affect our chances of being successful in the future. Our guys have been very good at handling these situations and we just want to keep it going.
Saban told players they were only allowed to visit family when they hadn’t played last weekend. However, first-year wide receiver Traeshon Holden traveled to Baton Rouge to visit his friend and LSU wide receiver Koy Moore.
If positive COVID-19 cases or contacts plotted Alabama’s slim roster numbers during the season, Saban said the team had cross-trained players such as DeVonta Smith to play the running back. corner and Patrick Surtain to play the wide receiver. Other positions might be more difficult to fill without a steep learning curve.
“I think it’s also a really good reason to manage your personal space so that we don’t have this kind of problem,” Saban said.
“Complacency on the pitch leads to a blatant disregard for doing things right. I think complacency off the pitch can do the same because our biggest enemy right now could be this virus. “
Mike Rodak is an Alabama Beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.
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