2 in Aggies program positive with COVID-19 after South Carolina trip, Texas A&M says
For the second time this season, South Carolina football had a close call with a team that is dealing with COVID-19.
On Monday, Texas A&M announced a pair of coronavirus positives, one student and one player, who both traveled to Williams-Brice Stadium. South Carolina lost the game 48-3.
A South Carolina spokesman told The State: “Our athletics training staff has been notified by Texas A&M, 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.”
The Gamecocks dealt with a similar issue with Vanderbilt earlier this season. After the Gamecocks beat the Commodores, Vandy announced a new batch of positives that prevented them from playing.
USC (2-4) travels to face Ole Miss (2-4) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Auburn vs. Mississippi State postponed
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.
— The Associated Press
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.
— The Associated Press
LSU has COVID outbreak, Orgeron says
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.
The SEC requires teams to have at least 53 scholarship players available, less than that and the scheduled game cannot be played.
By the middle of the week, LSU expects to know if the game could still be held this weekend as scheduled, Orgeron said.
— The Associated Press
This story was originally published November 9, 2020 at 2:33 PM.
