Auburn game at Mississippi State postponed because of Bulldogs’ COVID-19 issues
The Southeastern Conference has postponed Saturday’s game between No. 20 Auburn and Mississippi State because of positive COVID-19 and quarantining within the Bulldogs’ program that the school says left the team below the minimum threshold of 53 available scholarship athletes.
The game is tentatively rescheduled for Dec. 12 in Starkville, Mississippi.
“Based on positive tests and those considered as close contacts, along with non-COVID injuries, we do not have the minimum number of scholarship student-athletes available for Saturday’s game against Auburn,” Mississippi State athletic director John Cohen said in a statement. “While we are disappointed that Saturday’s game has been postponed, our priority is the health, safety and well-being of our student-athletes and staff. We will continue to follow all established protocols and evaluate the most responsible path to return to the field.”
No. 24 Auburn (4-2) is coming off an open week. Its next game is Nov. 21 at home against Tennessee.
LSU dealing with COVID outbreak
LSU coach Ed Orgeron on Monday said his team is contending with a coronavirus outbreak and resulting quarantines that have made it difficult to know whether a number of starters or regulars will be available for Saturday’s scheduled game against No. 1 Alabama — or whether the game might need to be postponed.
But Orgeron says he is certain that starting quarterback Myles Brennan will not be ably to play by Saturday because of an abdomen injury. Orgeron would not specify whether Brennan’s top two backups — freshmen TJ Finley and Max Johnson — were affected by COVID-19 testing or quarantines, or whether their availability was in doubt.
While Orgeron stressed he wanted to be cautious about answering medical questions and didn’t want to get into the number of players affected by the team’s latest outbreak, he noted that the problem went beyond the number of positive COVID-19 tests. The number of related quarantines due to possible exposure also have thinned his roster in recent days, he said.
By the middle of the week, LSU expects to know if it has enough scholarship players available so the game could still be held as scheduled, Orgeron said.
Arkansas coach tests positive for COVID-19
Arkansas coach Sam Pittman has tested positive for COVID-19 and could miss Saturday’s game at No. 6 Florida.
Pittman was tested Sunday as part of the team’s normal protocol and learned Monday morning that his was positive. SEC protocol for asymptomatic positives will require him to isolate for at least 10 days from the date of the positive test. Pittman retested Monday morning to confirm the results of Sunday’s test, and those results were pending.
Defensive coordinator Barry Odom will serve as the team’s interim head coach. Pittman will remain a part of team meetings virtually while in isolation.
Texas A&M pauses team activities
No. 5 Texas A&M paused in-person activities on Monday after a player and a staff member tested positive for COVID-19 after the team returned from its weekend trip to South Carolina.
Coach Jimbo Fisher said the Aggies would not do anything on campus Monday and would instead conduct all work through Zoom. He said the team was undergoing additional testing and contact tracing to see if the coronavirus had spread any further.
Fisher said he hoped his team could return to campus on Tuesday. He was also confident that his team would be able to play on Saturday at Tennessee, but said he wouldn’t know for sure until they had completed testing and contact tracing.
This story was originally published November 9, 2020 at 3:33 PM.