re: Bama Football Tidings

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It seems to me exposure contact tracing should require 5 days of quarantine and tests on days 1, 3 & 5. If those 3 tests are negative and they have no symptoms, then let them practice and play.

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That's just about what the NFL is doing. Otherwise, they would be bogged down with cancellations about now. That said, Sankey was alluding to the idea that SEC protocol wasn't in his domain. That's strange that each conference is doing something different, so there's not much of a consensus on how contact tracing should be handled.

SEC - 14 days
ACC - 10 days
B1G - 21 days

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I could be wrong, but it seems to me that contact tracing isn't even needed, if every player and staff member is being tested at least every other day (getting same day results) and you quarantine all positives until they test negative.

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Way too many protocol standards for my liking. That's not a recipe for success in the long run for our college game. The other problem I have wondered about all season is who is doing all the tracing? Each University has its own method and people. What's universal about that?

Clemson had Lawrence practice with the team before he got his positive results that same day. Not one other player was put in the protocol tracing. Almost too good to believe. And now I'm getting more than curious about LSU's method of tracing.

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Sending players home during the bye week was a really really dumb idea. Alabama had the protocols to survive even that, but nobody else is as organized and prepared as Saban. Could have seen this coming a mile away. Schools should have kept players on campus in their bubble. They can go home and see mommy next month for Christmas.

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Yeah...it's difficult for me to have any sympathy for the argument that they hadn't seen their families in a couple of months. Really? I haven't been home in almost an entire year (not by choice) thanks to Covid restrictions.

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I believe these were the protocols that got put in place in order for the power people to approve things. The big 10 has more stringent guidelines tied to the state population and what % has covid.

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I get that. But when we started this thing there was a lot of legitimate trepidation about the effect on health and even possible heart-related issues associated with the virus. That seems to have changed dramatically, at least for this age demographic, as far as severe cases that cause hospitalization. But the protocols haven't changed. One or 2 positive players can stop a game from happening.

Even though Kiffin is a Twitter freak and a loose cannon, it's obvious that coaches and fans are now wondering out loud if teams that are getting their brakes beat off for various reasons even want to play out the schedule.

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Even though Kiffin is a Twitter freak and a loose cannon, it's obvious that coaches and fans are now wondering out loud if teams that are getting their brakes beat off for various reasons even want to play out the schedule.

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I don't think anyone is trying to get COVID to avoid playing games.

I do think that teams that are playing out the string on the season are saying "frick it" in regards to bottling themselves up inside at all times, not at the football facility. And, with the current virus situation nationwide, that is inevitably going to lead to kids getting infected.

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I don't think anyone is trying to get COVID to avoid playing games.

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They don't have to catch COVID. They have to get caught up in the contact tracing wash. That's all. Game over.

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The big 10 has more stringent guidelines

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If a player gets it they are out for 21 days I read. They have no built in bye weeks so they could have multiple players get it and have 3 games postponed.

I seriously can see a team/coach/staff stretching the rules of the contact tracing if their team isn't in contention for something bigger and likewise if they are in contention. There were even cases of HS's inside the AHSAA that simply shutdown their seasons 7-8 games in. Look at their records and they had 0,1,or 2 wins only. It's easy to make a phone call and cancel when you are 2-3 with no chance of the SEC title or even a CFP berth, or in LSwho's case, defend your title. I would be willing to bet that if LSwho was sitting at 6-0 right now and BAMA coming to town, we would be playing.

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aTm is still in playoff contention and it happened to them. I think what has happened here recently is that team finds out it has 3-5 positive tests from players who caught it during the bye week, team performs contact tracing and realizes that under its protocols they will lose an additional 18 players for two weeks, and rather than playing two games down 20-25 scholarship players they slightly expand their definition of "close contact" so that it includes an additional 10-15 players and brings them under the 53 threshold for a get out of jail free card.

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There was some talk a few weeks ago that the SEC was going to use the same technology that the NFL was using to trace the player's activity. Beepers and computer chips on bracelets and shoulder pads. I have no idea if they actually went to that or not. But it still doesn't tell anyone if the players were wearing masks.

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I'm sure some teams are. The problem is that the contact tracing protocols and quarantine decisions are being made by the individual schools rather than the conference. Thus one TE at LSU being positive wipes out their entire TE room, but Sunshine going to fricking practice while his test result, that ultimately came back positive, was pending doesn't get anyone at Clemson quarantined. It's easy to see how this stuff can be strategically manipulated.

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I gave some thought to the idea that teams would be manipulating the investigations to keep their team on the field. And as you mentioned some obviously are. But I had no idea that teams could be trying this hard to avoid a potential butt-kicking. Maybe guys like special ed are starting to worry about their legacy and their job.