Ole Miss vs. Texas A&M postponed for second time due to COVID-19

Published 7:12 pm Monday, December 7, 2020

Ole Miss may not make a trip to Texas in 2020.

The Rebels’ football game against No. 5 Texas A&M was postponed on Monday for a second time this season. The decision was made due to a combination of positive tests, contact tracing and subsequent quarantining of  individuals within the Ole Miss football program, which is consistent with Southeastern Conference COVID-19 management requirements.

The football program shutdown all team activities on Dec. 2 after reporting new positive COVID-19 case each day, starting on Nov. 30. As of Monday morning, the team was scheduled to resume practice on Wednesday but that was extended to Friday following the postponement announcement.

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“The 10-day suspension is in the best interest of student-athlete and staff safety and comes in consultation with the (Mississippi State Department of Health),” a statement from the school read.

Ole Miss (4-4) and the Aggies (7-1) were scheduled to play on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT, making up the game that was originally scheduled for Nov. 21, but was posptoned due to Texas A&M’s program having a COVID-19 outbreak at the time.

This week’s postponement makes it very difficult to reschedule the game a second time. The SEC’s regular season is slated to end on Dec. 19 with its championship game and a schedule of games being made up from previous postponements due to COVID-19.

The Rebels are scheduled to travel to LSU on Dec. 19, making up their game that was postponed last Saturday to allow the Tigers to make up their Nov. 14 game against No. 1 Alabama, which was postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the LSU program at the time.

An opportunity to reschedule the Texas A&M game is contingent on any games scheduled for Dec. 19 being canceled due to COVID-19.

Otherwise, the Aggies and Ole Miss will be the first two SEC teams not able to play all 10 of their scheduled games.