The days leading up to the start of what would be Alabama’s first spring exercise in March now seem strange.
Before the walls of the COVID-19 pandemic were completely shut down on college sports, the biggest questions about Tide’s season 2020 were more of the nitty-gritty, football variety.
Then jumping practices, and the jumping game, were canceled. Non-conference games were scrapped and the start of a 10-game, only conference season was postponed to Sept. 26. Fallkamp was delayed from its typical beginning from August to Monday.
While kissing pads soon resumes on the practice fields behind the Mal Moore athletics complex in Tuscaloosa, bigger questions overshadow the typical talking points that lead to the season’s opening game.
Conversations with friends, family and neighbors who once started with, “Hey, what does Alabama look like this year?” now being kicked out by, “Hey, shall we play football this year?”
With that in mind, here’s a look at some of the macro-level questions for playing Alabama football:
1) Well, will there be football this season? That’s the SEC’s plan, and it was hard to miss how Tide athletics director Greg Byrne formulated it as a ‘goal’ when he spoke to reporters last week. “We’ve tried to continue to be flexible, adaptable as things go,” he said. ‘I think we’ll continue to use that, we need to move forward. I think we currently have a goal of 26 September. It’s a very well thought out plan and we will continue to move in that direction until we are told we can not. ‘Byrne, like SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, is careful not to over-promise and under-deliver. The cancellation of the Big Ten and Pac-12 seasons has already pushed the remaining three Power 5 conferences to the brink. Not only could external factors with other conferences force the SEC to reconsider its position, but the conference itself has put in place public health conditions that would cancel games this season.
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2) When will the SEC release its scheme? That will come Monday. The conference will open its Week 1 opponents at 2 p.m. CT and then set out the full schedule at 6 p.m. CT. Because schedules in college football are typically determined years in advance, it is a rare opportunity for the league to use its television network for an NFL-style schedule reveal specifically. The 10 opponents of Alabama are already set; they will, as usual, play every SEC West school and cross-division rival Tennessee. In addition, they will face previously planned SEC opponent Georgia (home) and two additional East schools, Missouri (away) and Kentucky (home). What remains to be determined are dates of those games; there is no guarantee that the original dates of games will remain the same, even for the Iron Bowl.
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3) Will fans be allowed in Bryant-Denny Stadium? Once the SEC releases its schedule, Byrne said last week that the school will unveil its ticket plans for the 2020 season, which will consist of just five home games against Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Auburn, Kentucky and Georgia. Byrne reiterated last week that capacity is “significantly reduced” at Bryant-Denny Stadium, which has undergone an offseason renewal and should be ready in time for the delayed start.
4) Will every Alabama player participate this season? That remains to be seen. The first consideration is COVID-19. Players will be tested at least twice weekly and must self-isolate for 10 days if positive, and will need several clearances before returning to the game. Furthermore, any player with close, sustained contact with an infected should be quarantined for 14 days and unable to test ‘quarantine’ by testing negative. Those protocols alone can result in players missing out on time during the season. In addition, the school develops guidelines for treating players who choose to opt out of the season. At baseline, players will keep their scholarships. There is no deadline for when players have to decide to take off, so minds can theoretically change between now and the start of the season.
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5) Will there be a Playoff of College Football? One potential piece of the puzzle for players to decide whether or not to choose is the playoffs. After meeting almost last week in the wake of the cancellations of the Big Ten and Pac-12, the commission published a statement saying it was ready to move forward this season. What would a January playoff look like with just three Power 5 conferences playing this fall? “Coach Saban and I talked about it. “I think there have been some early talks,” Byrne said last week. ‘As much as you want to figure out over the next six months, it’s fluid. … I think there is something where the CFP and the conference commissioners will have something to discuss in the coming weeks and months. ”
As for polls, the poll of preseason coaches, who had Alabama ranked No. 3, was released before the Big Ten and Pac-12 cancellations. The Associated Press’ pre-season interview will be released next week and will have all teams considered, regardless of whether they play this fall. Subsequent polls will only consider teams playing this fall, with a separate poll accompanying each spring season. The same logic will apply to the AP’s All-America teams.
Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.
