Saban highlights the SEC’s worst COVID week…on Wednesday

Before the season started, Andy Staples, the college football writer-come-podcast host, criticised the Big 12 for what was going on with COVID.

He said that Greg Sankey and the SEC knew what they were doing when they started the season a bit later.

For three weeks, things seemed to be going well. Sure, we were making fun of student bodies in the stands and their lack of either masking up or social distancing, but the non-lingering of the TV screens made us go back to the football.

Then this week, the news started to hit.

• Monday: Straight out of the gate, the SEC announces that it will postpone the game between Vanderbilt and Missouri. Vanderbilt has been struggling with COVID-19 cases, and it had decimated its team. Missouri seemed to be recovering from it a bit, and had the scholarships. The game was moved to December 12th.

• Tuesday: Florida announces that they have a bunch of new cases. A student newspaper points out that there are 19 new cases. The writer is attacked by various online outlets, to the point that she wrote: “I stand by my story”. It turns out that she was right, and the school admitted that on Wednesday. The LSU game suddenly looked in jeopardy.

• Wednesday (1): The SEC postpones the Florida-LSU game to December 12th. The built-in bye week at the end of the season is now looking more useful that ever. Check out what Stricklin said, and our reaction to the whole situation involving the players, who couldn’t seem to work out that ‘the sniffles’ might just be a symptom of a deadly pandemic. Dan Mullen walks back his comments about wanting The Swamp full for the LSU game. We think it was more to do with outrage at Mullen from Scott Stricklin than Mullen actually thinking: “Oh crap. I made a mistake here”. Travel from Florida to Texas A&M was blamed, with three Gators players who ‘had the sniffles’ travelled, and 3 became 19 very quickly.

• Wednesday (2): Lane Kiffin points out that there’s been an increase of cases at Ole Miss. Right now, he’s optimistic that the Rebels can get a team together for the game Arkansas, but this seems to be more hope. He seems actually resigned to that one being postponed, as well.

• Wednesday (3): The massive bombshell: Alabama head coach and God of the SEC Nick Saban has tested positive for COVID-19 alongside AD Greg Byrne. Saban says that he’s not got symptoms, although he’s compared how he’s feeling to: “Coming off a plane”. Saban won’t be allowed to coach from the phone or the press box, and has to be in isolation for 10 days. Saban talked about the wearing of a mask and how he’s done it all the time, but blamed travel. “Look, I basically feel like when we’re in our own personal bubble here, everybody is in a much safer place. I think as soon as you travel, you get exposed to a lot more things and a lot more people.” The news will worry people in the Alabama program that Saban – who’s not unknown for his hands-off approach, may have had the virus passed onto him via Ole Miss (who were the last team to play Alabama and now have cases). Was it the crowd at Vaught-Hemingway? Was it Ole Miss players or Lane Kiffin? No-one really knows. But it’s very serious.

This isn’t for SEC Week, you feel. And it’s only Wednesday.

Oh, and for the record on the Big 12, Baylor cancelled its game with Oklahoma State on Monday…..due to COVID.