Texas Tech has a ridiculous number of football players who have tested positive for COVID-19.
No wonder the Texas Tech Red Raiders had so much trouble in their season opener against Houston Baptist. They may have the most coronavirus-impacted roster in college football.
On Monday, Texas Tech released numbers on its positive COVID-19 tests. There are six active cases on the team as they head into an off week.
That’s not the most stunning revelation for the Red Raiders though. Since they started testing their roster in June, they have had 75 players and five staff members test positive for novel coronavirus, according to KLBK in Lubbock.
Fortunately, all of the positive players and staffers have recovered, aside from the six still in that process.
Texas Tech has had 60 percent of its roster come down with COVID-19.
With 123 players listed on the roster, Texas Tech has seen 60 percent of their players test positive over the course of three and a half months.
On the one hand, the testing is clearly working to identify cases. On the other hand, the sheer number of cases is concerning. Either the Red Raiders weren’t doing a good enough job of preventing the spread within their program, or football players haven’t been particularly responsible when they leave campus.
The 75 positive cases from the football team account for 64 percent of the overall cases among student-athletes.
One can only hope those who have recovered are also being monitored for the same underlying medical conditions that convinced the Big Ten and Pac-12 to cancel their seasons.
Houston Baptist pushed Texas Tech to the brink in a 35-33 victory. If they only managed a two-point win over an FCS squad, they’ll have a significantly more scary challenge next week when they battle Texas in Austin for their Big 12 opener.
Fortunately, the time off this week should give them time to get six players back and get some laser focus on the Longhorns.
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