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USATSI

Alabama and LSU were scheduled to play on Saturday, Nov. 14 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing at LSU forced the game to be delayed, which presented a problem since LSU's game vs. Florida had already been rescheduled for Dec. 12 -- the conference-wide bye week built in to accommodate for scheduling changes. 

The SEC solved the problem. The conference announced Friday that the Crimson Tide and Tigers will tee it up on Saturday, Dec. 5, salvaging one of the best rivalries in the conference. Game time is set for 8 p.m. ET and will be part of an SEC on CBS doubleheader. 

The move is part of a series of scheduling changes that were announced by the conference. Arkansas at Missouri, originally schedule for this weekend, will also be played on Dec. 5. The Alabama at Arkansas, Ole Miss at LSU and Missouri at Mississippi State games, all of which were originally scheduled for Dec. 5, will be rescheduled and made up at a later date. 

"The cooperation and flexibility of our coaches, athletics directors and campus leaders along with the dedication of our student-athletes now provides the opportunity to reach this point in the season with the ability for each SEC team to play ten football games in 2020," said SEC commissioner Greg Sankey. "We knew before the season there would be interruptions and scheduling challenges related to COVID-19 and we will continue to manage the remaining weeks of the football schedule to allow for as many games to be played as possible, with a continuing focus on determining an SEC champion."

The move is in an attempt to allow all SEC teams to play 10 games during the 2020 regular season. The SEC announced last week that Dec. 19, the day of the SEC Championship Game, can also be used as a makeup date for teams that are not competing for the conference title. That flexibility will allow the SEC to meet the goal of getting all 10 games per team in barring any future postponements.