Ole Miss’ multiple virus cases force Aggies to postpone game
COLLEGE STATION – Mississippi’s game at No. 5 Texas A&M scheduled for Saturday has officially been postponed and likely is canceled following multiple COVID-19 cases and the resulting contact tracing and quarantines in the Mississippi program.
The Aggies (7-1), angling to make their first College Football Playoff, are now next scheduled to play at Tennessee (2-6) on Dec. 19 in a final attempt to impress the CFP committee, which names its final four Dec. 20.
“We’ve stressed throughout 2020, and it’s a great lesson about life, control what you can control,” A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said. “It’s unfortunate we’re unable to play Ole Miss this week. I feel for our seniors who were looking forward to being recognized and playing at Kyle Field.
“We’ll go back to work controlling what we can, and that is preparing to play at Tennessee next week.”
The Southeastern Conference noted in a release: “Rescheduling (Mississippi at A&M) is contingent on any cancellation of Dec. 19 games due to COVID, otherwise the game will not be played.”
Considering A&M already is scheduled to play at Tennessee on Dec. 19, any reshuffling of the lineup this late in the abbreviated season appears unlikely – meaning the Aggies will try and wow the committee with nine games instead of 10.
The top four teams in the CFP are Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson and Ohio State, and the Aggies are hoping for a Clemson loss to Notre Dame in the ACC title game to try and squeeze into the top four by Dec. 20 and make their first CFP.
The third CFP ranking will be released Tuesday night, and A&M is expected to stay at No. 5. The rolling Aggies, winners of six
consecutive games, are coming off a 31-20 victory at Auburn in which they outscored the Tigers 17-0 in the fourth quarter.
“… We understood that any scenario throughout this public health crisis was a possibility,” said athletic director Ross Bjork, who came to A&M from the same position at Mississippi last year. “After completing eight games, our coaches, staff and administration should be commended for setting the stage for a successful season, and playing this great game as safely as possible.”
Both the Mississippi and Tennessee games were originally postponed from November after three COVID-19 cases in the A&M program and contact tracing that sidelined roughly half the scholarship players for a couple of weeks.
Meantime, Fisher this month welcomed back two players who over the summer had opted out
of playing this season: senior cornerback Elijah Blades and freshman linebacker Ke’Shun Brown.
“When you make a decision, information changes over time,”
Fisher said Monday. “Sometimes you reflect on your decisions, some things change in your life, some things happen in your life … that’s what is going on.”
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the death of former Houstonian George Floyd, a Black man, under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer in late May in particular prompted plenty of reflection and mulling of futures among players over the summer.
“There was a lot of turmoil and confusion going on at that time in America,” Fisher said of a tumultuous spring and summer. “We had a lot of unknowns. You had a lot of young people making decisions, and now they’re making decisions based off the information they (currently) have.
“That door has always been open, and they’ve always been a part of our family, and we want to help them.”
Blades, a starter last season after transferring from a junior college, should provide decent depth at cornerback behind Myles Jones and Jaylon Jones, while Brown, who redshirted in 2019, likely is at least a year away from meaningful contribution at linebacker.
Two other players who opted out in the summer are senior receiver Jhamon Ausbon and junior linebacker Anthony Hines III. Both players have declared their intention of being in the NFL draft and are not expected back.
A&M senior linebacker and team leader Buddy Johnson said the current players hold nothing against Blades and Brown for their respective decisions over the summer.
“Those are our brothers, and we accept them back with open arms,” Johnson said. “Guys go through a lot of things, and in this sport you have to be mentally ready to handle those things. If guys aren’t mentally ready to handle those things they have to take time off for themselves.
“Those guys are ready, and they decided to come back … they’re one of us, and once you’re an Aggie, you’re an Aggie forever. We’re happy to have those guys back with us.”