Alabama-LSU football game canceled due to COVID-19 outbreak for Tigers
The Alabama-LSU rivalry game has been canceled due to a COVID-19 outbreak on the Tigers roster.
The annual meeting between the Alabama Crimson Tide and LSU Tigers is one of the highlights of the SEC and college football schedule. And it was set to be played in Week 11, the marquee matchup of the week even with the apparent gap between the two programs this season. But now the game won’t happen at all.
After LSU head coach Ed Orgeron stated that the game might be in doubt on Monday amid a COVID-19 outbreak on the Tigers’ roster, the Week 11 matchup was officially canceled on Tuesday, as reported by Jim Dunaway.
Sources saying LSU-Alabama is postponed per SEC CoVid Testing/Protocol.
— Jim Dunaway (@jimdunaway) November 10, 2020
TBD on reschedule.
It should be noted that @LSUfootball was/is fighting hard to play even with depleted numbers.
Also, this is another example of The #SEC plan working to secure a safe, completed season
As was reported on Monday, LSU is down to only TJ Finley in terms of scholarship quarterbacks while the rest of the roster is heavily depleted elsewhere. The recent outbreak reportedly stems from a Halloween party that has unleashed havoc. But given the state of the Tigers roster, it’s no surprise that the decision was made to scrap the game against Alabama.
Alabama vs. LSU can’t be rescheduled as no makeup date is available.
The unfortunate aspect of Alabama-LSU getting canned for Week 11 is that the game has to be canceled and not postponed. The SEC built a makeup date into the schedule but the Tigers already are having to use that date for a postponed matchup with Florida. Thus, there is no place for a makeup game between the Tigers and Crimson Tide to be played.
For SEC fans and proponents of the rivalry, that’s exceptionally disheartening. But no one should worry about any real long-term implications for either team. Alabama still sits in the driver’s seat in the SEC West and in prime position to be a shoo-in for the College Football Playoff. LSU, meanwhile, likely avoids another brutal loss on their increasingly dubious résume this season.
This is the reality of playing a college football season in a pandemic, though. Even if the conference tried to prepare for postponements and situations such as this one, there’s a point where nothing more can be done. This is that point for Alabama, LSU and the SEC.
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