SEC announces that No. 1 Alabama vs. LSU and No. 5 Texas A&M vs. Tennessee postponed due to COVID-19
The SEC has had two more games postponed due to COVID-19.
No. 1 Alabama and LSU will not play on Saturday because of a COVID-19 outbreak at LSU and No. 5 Texas A&M will not play at Tennessee. The postponements come a day after Auburn and Mississippi State’s game was postponed because of a COVID-19 outbreak at MSU.
"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," SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement. "We must remain vigilant, within our programs and in our communities, to prevent the spread of the virus and to manage activities that contribute to these interruptions."
It’s the second time that LSU has had a game postponed due to COVID-19 this season. The Tigers’ game vs. Florida was pushed to Dec. 12 because of a COVID-19 outbreak among the Gators.
Texas A&M and Tennessee are now scheduled to play on Dec. 12. The day currently features that game, Missouri vs. Vanderbilt, Auburn vs. Mississippi State, and Florida vs. LSU.
When will Alabama play LSU?
That Dec. 12 date has long been held open by the SEC for teams to play makeup games. But with LSU already set to play Florida, it’s unclear how the SEC will be able to make up the Alabama-LSU game. Florida is currently the leader in the SEC East, so if the Gators play Alabama in the SEC title game on Dec. 19, that date will be unavailable for LSU to play either of those two teams.
LSU and Alabama were scheduled to play at 6 p.m. ET after CBS’ coverage of The Masters. CBS is not televising its traditional 3:30 p.m. game of the week because of the postponed spring tradition and chose to put LSU and Alabama directly after the conclusion of the third round.
The SEC’s three Week 11 postponements come after a Week 10 that had 10 games either canceled or postponed. Four games involving Conference USA teams were among the 10 as well as two games in the Pac-12. The Pac-12 delayed the start of its season to Nov. 7 because of the coronavirus pandemic and was the last conference at the top level of college football to start its 2020 season.
As of now, there are five games scheduled for Saturday that have already been postponed or canceled this week. Memphis’ game against Navy has been postponed due to COVID-19 cases at Navy and Air Force said COVID-19 cases had caused its game against Wyoming to be canceled.
The SEC teams that have seen Week 11 games postponed this week are not the only teams in the conference dealing with COVID-19 positives. Arkansas said Monday that coach Sam Pittman had tested positive for COVID-19. He will not coach against Florida on Saturday. Missouri, meanwhile, has reportedly had players test positive for COVID-19 this week, though the Tigers’ game vs. Georgia is still currently scheduled for Saturday.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
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