It's trending toward an unprecedented week in the Southeastern Conference – and not for a positive reason.
COVID-19 outbreaks at both LSU and Texas A&M have forced those football programs to pause preparations for their respective games this week, and the SEC announced Monday afternoon it was postponing the Auburn-Mississippi State game on Saturday for the same reason.
In announcing the game was being pushed back to Dec. 12, an open date for both teams, the SEC said, “positive tests and subsequent quarantine of individuals within the Mississippi State football program” necessitated the move back four weeks.
The Bulldogs were at home last Saturday, snapping a long losing streak by defeating visiting Vanderbilt. Auburn was open this past weekend and thus will not have another free date remaining on its schedule should the Tigers face a need to postpone a game down the stretch. They are scheduled to host Tennessee (Nov. 21) and Texas A&M (Dec. 5) sandwiched around a road trip to rival Alabama (Nov. 28).
The annual LSU-Alabama showdown this week and the Aggies' first-ever trip to Knoxville as an SEC member both are in jeopardy, though Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher on Monday expressed optimism that the Aggies could make the trip. They've confirmed one positive test for a student-athlete and a student-worker and have other members of the football program in quarantine for contact tracing and additional tests.
Already on Monday, Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman announced he had tested positive for COVID-19, thought Pittman said he was asymptomatic and hoped he had just absorbed a false-positive test.