COVID Update: 11/11/2020
By Makenna Biehl
After a weekend of the entire Power 5 Conferences playing, the effects of COVID are starting to show in-game postponements and cancellations. The SEC recently announced that the Alabama vs. LSU and Texas A&M vs. Tennessee games are postponed to a future date. This was due to positive COVID tests and contact tracing between the LSU and Texas A&M football programs.
Following the postponement of the two games was the cancellation of the Ohio State vs. Maryland game. This was due to an increased number of positive tests coming from the Maryland football program. Cancellations are more critical for conferences like the Big Ten due to the accelerated speed of their season. Not only does this affect national rankings for teams, but also players in the run for the Heisman.
The effect of COVID on the run for Heisman hits close to home for Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence. After testing positive for COVID a few weeks ago, Lawrence missed out on the Boston College and Notre Dame games. This raises the question of whether or not that will affect his run for Heisman. Along with Lawrence, Ohio State’s Justin Fields faces the penalty of missing a game in an already short season. Fields and Lawrence now both have a limited time to prove that they are the best candidate to take the Heisman Trophy home at the end of the year.
As the effects of COVID continue to cause changes to the 2020 football season, football programs across the nation are battling to stay healthy while still pulling off wins.
