COVID-19 issues postpone next Vanderbilt game, days after Commodores played USC
South Carolina’s football team faced a Vanderbilt squad down to 56 players because of opt-outs, positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing.
Two days after the Gamecocks’ 41-7 victory in Nashville, the Commodores had to postpone its next game, against Missouri, because of “positive tests and subsequent quarantining,” according to the SEC. The game will be rescheduled for Dec. 12.
It’s the first SEC game postponed during the coronavirus pandemic.
South Carolina will prepare for its next game and test its staff and players three times this week per usual, a school spokesman told The State. The Gamecocks conduct testing Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The school also issued a statement: “Our athletics training staff has been notified by Vanderbilt, per SEC protocols, that no players on the Gamecock football team were identified as being a close contact that would result in quarantine. A close contact is identified as someone who is within six feet of an infected person for at least 15 cumulative minutes. We will continue to test our players as normal SEC protocols — three times each week.”
A team is required by the SEC to have at least 53 players available to play in a game in the COVID-19 era. The Commodores were three over that minimum against the Gamecocks. Vandy played 54 players Saturday against USC, according to the game’s official participation report.
Vanderbilt reported that its next game was postponed “due to a lack of available scholarship student-athletes” from virus-related issues as well as “injuries and opt-outs.” Vanderbilt had six players — including four offensive linemen — opt out of playing this season.
247Sports national college football reporter Brandon Marcello, citing a source, reported that Vanderbilt on Monday had around 50 available players with an overall situation that was not improving.
Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp in the preseason had referenced having players, without naming names, being sidelined either by the virus or from contact tracing. Since the season started, USC has not released any details about how COVID-19 is affecting the Gamecocks. The team also stopped providing a player availability report each week.
The team had several notable players not travel to the Nashville this weekend. When asked if they would be back against Auburn this week, Muschamp said, “We’ll see.”
This story was originally published October 12, 2020 at 4:10 PM.
