LSU vs. Alabama Game Postponed Due to Coronavirus Outbreak, SEC Reports | LSU

Saturday’s LSU football game against Alabama will be postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak on the Tigers football team, the Southeastern Conference announced Tuesday afternoon.

The LSU football team fell below the SEC’s 53-player requirement, LSU athletic director Scott Woodward said in a statement after a small number of players tested positive at the COVID-19 last week, forcing several others to mandatory 14-day quarantines.

“We are disappointed that there will be no football at Tiger Stadium this weekend, but we will always prioritize the health and well-being of our student-athletes,” said Woodward. “We will continue to follow league protocols to return to playing safely and responsibly.”

This is the second time this season that an LSU game has been delayed due to the coronavirus. LSU’s game against Florida has been postponed to December 12 due to an outbreak within the Gators program, and, since this game takes up the weekend the SEC has set aside for such postponements, it is unlikely that LSU-Alabama be played this year.

LSU’s sports department said in a press release that an opportunity to reschedule the game “will need to be assessed” and “may include” December 19 as a play date.

Postponing the LSU-Alabama game for that date will be difficult. It’s the date for the SEC Championship game, and, with Alabama leading the West Division, that date is unlikely to be available for the Crimson Tide.

The league could still possibly rearrange other game dates to make room for LSU-Alabama. It’s one of the league’s signature clashes each season – a rivalry that hasn’t been interrupted since 1963 – and CBS has booked this year’s game for its prime-time broadcast on Saturday night after the third round. by The Masters.

But with half the season already over, there were few rearranging options. LSU and Alabama are both exiting their only scheduled opening date, and it wasn’t possible to mix up their remaining three games in a way that hasn’t disrupted the rest of the league.

“We don’t have endless time to invent matches,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey told ESPN’s Paul Finebaum on Monday.

The news comes a day after LSU coach Ed Orgeron told reporters he was told last week that some soccer players had tested positive for COVID-19. Orgeron did not go into details on the number and the players involved, but said there was a “high” number of players in quarantine, including starters, and hinted that the quarterback position -rear was involved.

Real freshman TJ Finley is the only LSU scholarship quarterback available for the Alabama game, a source confirmed by The Advocate, and the Tigers also don’t have scholarships available. Another factor is the position of the wide receiver.

Orgeron only said LSU was “very thin” at the quarterback. Starter Myles Brennan was ruled out for the Alabama game, Orgeron said, and the head coach added that there had been talks about Brennan shutting down for the season after missing two games in a struggles to recover from an abdominal injury he sustained against Missouri.

Orgeron said creating quarterback options would be “difficult” with the available players.

“We have a plan in place,” Orgeron said. “I’m not going to say what we’re doing, because that would reveal our game plan.”

The ultimate question remained whether LSU would fall below the SEC’s 53-player threshold when contact tracing produced the final tally. Teams that do not reach the league player limit still have the option to play, pending league approval, but teams must also have at least seven stock offensive linemen, a quarterback, and four defensive linemen.

Several reports say defensive backs and long snappers are also among those who have tested positive or are in quarantine.

The SEC, which experienced its first coronavirus setbacks in October, is now facing its second wave of problems.

On a dizzying Monday, the state of Mississippi had an outbreak of COVID-19 and announced that its game against Auburn on Saturday was to be postponed. Texas A&M had to halt sporting activities after several players tested positive. Arkansas have announced that head coach Sam Pittman has tested positive for the virus and that defensive coordinator Barry Odom, former head coach of Missouri, will take over this weekend against Florida while Pittman recovers .

The SEC also announced Tuesday that the Texas A&M game in Tennessee this Saturday will also be postponed due to positive tests, contact tracing and subsequent quarantine within the Texas A&M program.

LSU is set to play in Arkansas on November 21, and the uncertainty even darkens that game. Will Pittman come back in time? Will there be too many LSU players in 14-day quarantine, keeping the team below their roster requirements?

Pittman is reportedly asymptomatic and, according to the updated recommendations of the SEC’s Medical Guidance Task Force, asymptomatic people who test positive for COVID-19 can resume sports activities if they are negative in three successive PCR tests over a period of time. 72 hours.

Players who are quarantined due to high-risk contact cannot test outside of their mandatory 14-day quarantine period.

The LSU, like several NCAA teams this season, has already encountered football logistical challenges with the coronavirus and its league protocols.

Orgeron told reporters during preseason camp he believed most players on the soccer team, not all, had already contracted coronavirus.

The update came after a difficult offseason in which the program dealt with an initial spike in COVID-19 cases earlier this summer – a case that involved a group of five to six players, a source told The Advocate in June, after players attended bars. in Tigerland.

Then, in week two of LSU’s preseason camp, all but four offensive linemen were in quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19 or determined to be at high risk.

“I think most of our players, not all, but most of our players caught it,” Orgeron said in September. “So I hope they don’t catch up to him, and I hope they don’t get out for the games.”

The LSU roster has suffered several hits due to other factors since the start of the season, and every loss by a player counts towards the SEC’s 53-player roster requirement.

Earlier this year, quarterback Peter Parrish was suspended indefinitely and eventually moved to Memphis. Linebacker Marcel Brooks has transferred to TCU. Three starters have chosen to retire before the start of the season: star receiver Ja’Marr Chase, nose tackle Tyler Shelvin and nickel goaltender Kary Vincent. Defensive tackle Siaki “Apu” Ika entered the transfer portal two weeks ago, and days later linebacker / defensive end Travez Moore announced he was stepping down as well.

Orgeron said this year has been difficult to navigate. Squad management in a volatile climate has been “fluid” during a tumultuous and unpredictable season, and yet another game was affected.

“We are worried about the guys who are sick and their safety,” Orgeron said Monday. “There is no question.”