STARKVILLE — Mississippi State will have to wait another month to play Auburn.
Monday, the Southeastern Conference announced the game between the Tigers and Bulldogs initially scheduled for Saturday will now be postponed to Dec. 12 following COVID-19 positive tests and subsequent contract tracing with the MSU football team.
MSU’s next contest will now be Nov. 21 at No. 12 Georgia.
“Based on positive tests and those considered as close contacts, along with non-COVID injuries, we do not have the minimum number of scholarship student-athletes available for Saturday’s game against Auburn,” MSU Athletic Director John Cohen said in a news release. “While we are disappointed that Saturday’s game has been postponed, our priority is the health, safety and well-being of our student-athletes and staff.”
Under SEC guidelines, teams are required to have 53 scholarship players available, including one quarterback, seven offensive linemen — including one center — and four defensive linemen.
Last week against Vanderbilt, MSU was reportedly close to the 53-player threshold, as only eight offensive linemen dressed for the contest. Leach confirmed this in his Monday press conference, revealing the Bulldogs were just one player above the threshold when facing the Commodores and that number had obviously dipped below the requirements following that Monday’s round of testing.
The first-year head coach also noted the postponement is, in large part, due to contact tracing.
“The contact tracers add up, too,” Leach said. “I think that’s one of the biggest hits. We’ve got several guys that aren’t even positive that have to sit at home and play video games because they were next to somebody (that got COVID-19).”
Leach added that no one on his coaching staff had been affected by the current outbreak but that, “So far any coaches that have gotten it got it way earlier.” He also said Monday he believes he dealt with his own bout with COVID-19 in March after he spoke at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, though also clarified he was never tested.
“I was on a plane full of Boston people coming and going and then went to spring break, and about a day and a half after I got back, I got sick,” Leach said. “But that was back before, 1) it was impossible to find a test, 2) they’re unreliable, 3) they’re kind of expensive so I didn’t get tested. I did have pretty much all the symptoms. If I were to bet, I would definitely bet that I had it then.”
As MSU’s schedule now stands, it will mark the first time since 1998 that the Bulldogs will play two games after the Egg Bowl. That year, MSU closed its season with Ole Miss before playing in the SEC Championship Game against Tennessee and in the Cotton Bowl against Texas.
This year will also be just the second time and first since 1936 the Bulldogs will play two regular season games after the Egg Bowl. During the 1936 season, the Bulldogs closed with wins over Ole Miss, Mercer and Florida before falling to Duquesne in the Orange Bowl.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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