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UPDATE: 4:10 p.m.: The SEC has rescheduled the other two games that won’t be played this weekend for December 12th, but LSU is already scheduled to play Florida on that date.
The Auburn at Mississippi State and Texas A&M at Tennessee games have been tentatively rescheduled for December 12. Because LSU has a game tentatively scheduled for December 12, the opportunity to reschedule the Alabama at LSU game will need to be evaluated. The rescheduling of games on the remaining SEC football schedule may include December 19 as a playing date.
UPDATE: Tuesday 3:50 p.m.: According to John Talty at AL.com, the Alabama vs. LSU game scheduled for this weekend is off.
Source: Alabama-LSU has been postponed for this weekend. Story to come.
— John Talty (@JTalty) November 10, 2020
The report is confirmed by Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.com and Aaron Suttles of The Athletic.
The #Alabama-#LSU game has been postponed because of COVID-19 issues at LSU, sources tell ESPN. @JTalty first to report. Announcement soon.
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) November 10, 2020
The Alabama-LSU game will not be played this weekend.
— Aaron Suttles (@AaronSuttles) November 10, 2020
Updated: The SEC West showdown between the #1 Alabama Crimson Tide and LSU Tigers scheduled for this Saturday is off because of an outbreak of Covid-19 in Baton Rouge, according to multiple reports.
Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron confirmed as much during his press conference on Monday.
Multiple players, including starters, will be unavailable, coach Ed Orgeron said on Monday. Some have tested positive while the majority are out as a result of contact tracing.
The school has been in contact with the SEC office as they continue to monitor the situation. But, as of Monday morning, the game against Alabama was still set to be played.
Orgeron called it a “fluid situation” heading into the next round of testing on Tuesday, but would not provide the exact number of players who will be missing.
“It’s going to be challenging with the guys that are out,” Orgeron said.
#LSU’s outbreak stems from a party around Halloween and, because of contact tracing, has put the Tigers dangerously close to the SEC’s 53-man threshold to play, sources tell @SINow.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) November 9, 2020
Team is very thin at defensive back and quarterback.
Ed Orgeron is asked if #LSU punter Zach Von Rosenberg will play QB. He laughs and said he played some scout team last week but "he's our punter."
— Brooks Kubena (@BKubena) November 9, 2020
Says he won't give away their game plan about where they're moving players.
The SEC requires teams to have at least 53 scholarship athletes available for all games, though games can be canceled even if teams have more available players is a specific position group is hit particularly hard where it would make the game “unsafe.” This is generally the offensive and defensive lines.
A game under the lights in Death Valley is one of the great traditions of college football, and it being jeopardized is bad for both the league and the sport. But in 2020, this type of thing is to be expected.
Alabama was a 27.5 point favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook.