Saturday’s scheduled game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the LSU Tigers has been postponed due to coronavirus cases among LSU players. A new date for the game is unknown, with no obvious weekend for it to be played.
The Advocate, a Lousiana newspaper, is reporting that LSU had enough cases that the team did not have 53 eligible players on their roster for the game.
According to the paper, a small number of players tested positive, and another number of players are having to quarantine due to coming into close contact with the positive cases.
News of the postponement was made official by the Southeastern Conference in a tweet on Tuesday afternoon. A new date for the game has not yet been announced.
NEWS | The Alabama at LSU and Texas A&M at Tennessee FB games of Nov. 14 are postponed due to positive tests, contact tracing & subsequent quarantine of individuals within the LSU and A&M FB programs.
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) November 10, 2020
“While it is unfortunate to have multiple postponements in the same week, we began the season with the understanding interruptions to the schedule were possible and we have remained focused throughout the season on the health of everyone around our programs,” said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey in a statement.
The state of Alabama will now go two straight weeks without either of its major teams playing a football game.
Both Alabama and Auburn were off the weekend of Saturday, November 7, and coronavirus breakouts mean they will now have an additional free weekend.
Auburn’s scheduled game against Mississippi State was postponed until December 12 on Monday, and Auburn revealed Tuesday they had suffered a COVID-19 outbreak as well.
LSU has already had its matchup against Florida postponed until December 12, so that date cannot be used for the matchup between the Tide and Tigers.
The SEC championship game is scheduled for December 19. Alabama is currently the frontrunner to be the SEC West’s entrant in the game, leaving no currently existing weekend for the matchup against LSU to be played.
A release from Alabama Athletics Tuesday afternoon relayed SEC guidance, saying, “[B]ecause LSU has a game tentatively scheduled for December 12, the opportunity to reschedule the Alabama at LSU game will need to be evaluated. The rescheduling of games on the remaining SEC football schedule may include December 19 as a playing date.”
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: [email protected] or on Twitter @HenryThornton95
