Saturday’s trip to LSU has been postponed, but Nick Saban is doing his best to simulate a typical game-week routine for No. 1 Alabama. During an appearance on the SEC coaches teleconference Wednesday, the head coach said that his players will remain on campus this week as the team attempts to carry on with business as normally as possible.
“We’re trying to stay in the same rhythm that we would,” Saban said. “We usually do a light practice Monday, practice Tuesday, Wednesday, little bit of a light practice Thursday, no practice Friday, play a game Saturday. We’ll probably do the same thing.”
Alabama is already coming off an open date, meaning the Tide will have a rare two-week break in the middle of its season. Here’s an update on Alabama during this unique time.
Alabama has one positive test
Ahead of last weekend’s open date, Alabama held three practices before allowing players to return home and see their families. Even then, the team was given stringent guidelines on how to maintain a personal bubble and avoid contracting the virus.
For the most part, the plan seemed to work as Saban stated Wednesday that Alabama has not experienced an uptick in positive COVID-19 tests this week.
“We’ve been good,” Saban said. “I think we had maybe one positive this week. That’s it.”
Earlier this week, Saban said that it was his preference that his team remained in Tuscaloosa during the open week but said he didn’t have the heart to tell his players they couldn’t return home to see their families. According to the head coach, players were only allowed to leave if they were returning home.
“Everybody trusts their family and I trust my family,” Saban explained Wednesday. "But nobody knows where Uncle Tommy has been, either. So, you still have to be careful. That’s why we try to do the best possible educational program. I mean, the options were to not let the players go any place, which is really kind of a punishment.”
Saban admits he can’t verify that all players followed the guidelines and that no one went somewhere they weren’t supposed to go. However, he did state that he would confront any player he finds out broke protocol.
Starting quarterback Mac Jones, who returned home to Jacksonville, Fla. over the weekend, said he took the guidelines to heart while spending a relaxed weekend with his family.
“We spread out. I didn’t hug anybody,” Jone said. “You’re eating at a different table, like you’re eating at the kids' table. I just sat on the couch and watched football. I didn’t really move that much. Just sat on the couch watching football and trying to relax.”
LSU game could still happen
While it appears unlikely at the moment, there is still a chance Alabama and LSU meet up against each other this year.
LSU has already had its Oct. 17 game at Florida postponed to Dec. 12, theoretically leaving no time to reschedule the game against Alabama before the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 19. Tuesday, the SEC announced that the two teams could play on Dec. 19. However, that would only be possible if Alabama doesn’t win the SEC West and advance to the conference championship game.
The Tide is currently a game ahead of Texas A&M in the SEC West standings and holds the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Aggies. On top of that, Alabama will be favored in each of its three next games against Kentucky, Auburn and Arkansas.
Still, there might be a way to make the matchup against LSU happen even if Alabama does advance to the conference championship game. According to a report from USA Today, the SEC is considering shuffling Alabama’s and LSU’s schedules to make a rematch possible.
One scenario has both teams meeting in Baton Rouge next week. From there, Alabama would play Kentucky during its open week on Dec. 12, while LSU would reschedule next week's game against Arkansas to Dec. 19. Kentucky is currently available for a game on Dec. 12, while neither LSU nor Arkansas are destined for the conference championship game.
Another possible solution would see Alabama and LSU meet on Dec. 5. In that scenario, the Tide would play Arkansas on Dec. 12, while the Tigers play Ole Miss on Dec. 19. Like Kentucky, Arkansas is available to play on Dec. 12. Meanwhile, Ole Miss is out of contention for the SEC Championship Game.
LSU head coach Ed Orgeron stated his desire to play Alabama multiple times during Wednesday’s SEC teleconference.
“We look forward to the rescheduling of the game against Alabama,” he said. “We want to play Alabama. It’s a great rivalry for us against a great football team and we want to accept that challenge.”
Although, Orgeron isn’t sure when a possible rematch would occur.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” he said. “I’ve heard a lot of things, which I don’t know but whenever they tell us to play, we’ll be ready to play.”
Alabama at LSU is one of four SEC games postponed this week along with No. 5 Texas A&M at Tennessee, No. 12 Georgia at Missouri and No. 24 Auburn at Mississippi State.
“We’re trying to stay in the same rhythm that we would,” Saban said. “We usually do a light practice Monday, practice Tuesday, Wednesday, little bit of a light practice Thursday, no practice Friday, play a game Saturday. We’ll probably do the same thing.”
Alabama is already coming off an open date, meaning the Tide will have a rare two-week break in the middle of its season. Here’s an update on Alabama during this unique time.
Alabama has one positive test
Ahead of last weekend’s open date, Alabama held three practices before allowing players to return home and see their families. Even then, the team was given stringent guidelines on how to maintain a personal bubble and avoid contracting the virus.
For the most part, the plan seemed to work as Saban stated Wednesday that Alabama has not experienced an uptick in positive COVID-19 tests this week.
“We’ve been good,” Saban said. “I think we had maybe one positive this week. That’s it.”
Earlier this week, Saban said that it was his preference that his team remained in Tuscaloosa during the open week but said he didn’t have the heart to tell his players they couldn’t return home to see their families. According to the head coach, players were only allowed to leave if they were returning home.
“Everybody trusts their family and I trust my family,” Saban explained Wednesday. "But nobody knows where Uncle Tommy has been, either. So, you still have to be careful. That’s why we try to do the best possible educational program. I mean, the options were to not let the players go any place, which is really kind of a punishment.”
Saban admits he can’t verify that all players followed the guidelines and that no one went somewhere they weren’t supposed to go. However, he did state that he would confront any player he finds out broke protocol.
Starting quarterback Mac Jones, who returned home to Jacksonville, Fla. over the weekend, said he took the guidelines to heart while spending a relaxed weekend with his family.
“We spread out. I didn’t hug anybody,” Jone said. “You’re eating at a different table, like you’re eating at the kids' table. I just sat on the couch and watched football. I didn’t really move that much. Just sat on the couch watching football and trying to relax.”
LSU game could still happen
While it appears unlikely at the moment, there is still a chance Alabama and LSU meet up against each other this year.
LSU has already had its Oct. 17 game at Florida postponed to Dec. 12, theoretically leaving no time to reschedule the game against Alabama before the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 19. Tuesday, the SEC announced that the two teams could play on Dec. 19. However, that would only be possible if Alabama doesn’t win the SEC West and advance to the conference championship game.
The Tide is currently a game ahead of Texas A&M in the SEC West standings and holds the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Aggies. On top of that, Alabama will be favored in each of its three next games against Kentucky, Auburn and Arkansas.
Still, there might be a way to make the matchup against LSU happen even if Alabama does advance to the conference championship game. According to a report from USA Today, the SEC is considering shuffling Alabama’s and LSU’s schedules to make a rematch possible.
One scenario has both teams meeting in Baton Rouge next week. From there, Alabama would play Kentucky during its open week on Dec. 12, while LSU would reschedule next week's game against Arkansas to Dec. 19. Kentucky is currently available for a game on Dec. 12, while neither LSU nor Arkansas are destined for the conference championship game.
Another possible solution would see Alabama and LSU meet on Dec. 5. In that scenario, the Tide would play Arkansas on Dec. 12, while the Tigers play Ole Miss on Dec. 19. Like Kentucky, Arkansas is available to play on Dec. 12. Meanwhile, Ole Miss is out of contention for the SEC Championship Game.
LSU head coach Ed Orgeron stated his desire to play Alabama multiple times during Wednesday’s SEC teleconference.
“We look forward to the rescheduling of the game against Alabama,” he said. “We want to play Alabama. It’s a great rivalry for us against a great football team and we want to accept that challenge.”
Although, Orgeron isn’t sure when a possible rematch would occur.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” he said. “I’ve heard a lot of things, which I don’t know but whenever they tell us to play, we’ll be ready to play.”
Alabama at LSU is one of four SEC games postponed this week along with No. 5 Texas A&M at Tennessee, No. 12 Georgia at Missouri and No. 24 Auburn at Mississippi State.
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