Alabama is moving forward with plans to host a full-capacity college football game at Bryant-Denny Stadium this coming season, athletics director Greg Byrne announced Monday.
Byrne tweet a short statement after the news the previous day that the school would return to direct teaching with no class capacity limitation in the fall. Byrne said they would continue to monitor medical guidelines “as we have had it all along.”
Alabama reduced its capacity to 20% last season as COVID-19 spread, infecting millions of Americans. Infections recently decreased significantly.
Last Friday, the Centers for Disease Control reported a seven-day average of 66,348 infections in the United States, which is down about 10,000 from the previous week.
According to data from the New York Times, Alabama has the lowest vaccination rate in the state, with 13% of people receiving a single injection.
The Bryant-Denny Stadium, which has a capacity of 100,077, is scheduled to host seven football games next season, starting with the home opener on September 11 against Mercer.
The release of the SEC football schedule on Wednesday features the return of non-conference matches and an opening day roster on September 4 that includes a Power 5 bout. LSU in UCLA, Georgia vs. Clemson (Charlotte, North Carolina) and Miami vs. Alabama (Atlanta).
Louisville and Be Miss will play each other on September 6, Labor Day, in Atlanta.
Texas A&M, which came close to making the University Football Playoffs last season, will travel to Colorado in Week 2, recreating the previous Top 12 program bouts. The game will be played at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver.
Blonde, which will be led by new coach Bryan Harsin, will play on Penn State in Week 3.
Defending champions Alabama will kick off conference games that Saturday with a trip to Florida, setting up a rematch of last season’s SEC championship match, which was won by Crimson Tide 52-46.
“We are proud to have completed the 2020 football season under unique circumstances and will now focus on playing the 2021 football season on schedule,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement. “The circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 virus will continue to guide our decision making if any adjustments need to be made.”
The SEC canceled all non-conference matches last season amid the pandemic, with teams playing 10 regular season matches against league opponents each.
The 2021 schedule will also feature two homecoming trips for the head coach.
Coach Ole Miss Lane Kiffin will return to Tennessee for the first time as head coach when the Rebel fight the Volunteers on October 16. Kiffin only spent one season as head coach at Tennessee in 2009 before leaving for the USC, sparking a commotion from students in Knoxville.
Former coach Ole Miss Hugh Freeze will return to his old hometown Freedom a trip to Ole Miss on November 6. Freeze spent five seasons as head coach at Ole Miss before stepping down in 2017 after school officials discovered a pattern that included phone calls to numbers associated with female escort services. Freeze took over the Liberty program in 2019 and have turned 18-6 in two seasons.
Other highlights of the SEC’s release schedule include:
Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State each won their respective conference championships on Saturday, adding more drama to the University Football Playoff debates.
Which team will complete the top four? How will another bowl fight vibrate? ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach are considering their final projections for the 2020 season.
College Football Playoffs
College Football Playoff National Championship brought to you by AT&T Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida January 11, ESPN Bonagura: Alabama vs. Clemson Schlabach: Alabama vs. Clemson
College Football Playoff semifinals at the Rose Bowl AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas (moved) January 1, ESPN Bonagura: Ohio State vs. Clemson Schlabach: Ohio State vs. Clemson
College Football Playoff semifinals at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans January 1, ESPN Bonagura: Alabama vs. Notre Dame Schlabach: Alabama vs. Notre Dame
Schedule bowls
December 21st
Myrtle Beach Bowl Set fight: North Texas vs. Appalachian State Brooks Stadium (Conway, South Carolina) 2:30 pm on the ESPN and the ESPN App
December 22nd
Idaho’s Famous Potato Bowl Set fight: Nevada vs. Tulane Albertsons Stadium (Boise, Idaho) 3:30 pm on ESPN and the ESPN App
Boca Raton bowl Set fight: UCF vs. BYU FAU Stadium (Boca Raton, Florida) 7pm on the ESPN and the ESPN App
23 December
R + L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Set fight: Louisiana Tech vs. South Georgia Mercedes-Benz Superdome (New Orleans) 3:30 pm on ESPN and the ESPN App
Montgomery Bowl Set fight: Memphis vs. FAU Cramton Bowl (Montgomery, Alabama) 7pm on ESPN or ESPN2 and the ESPN App
December 24th
New Mexico Bowl Set fight: Hawai’i vs. Houston TBD (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 3:30 pm on ESPN and the ESPN App
December 25th
Camellia Bowl Cramton Bowl (Montgomery, Alabama) 2:30 pm on the ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Ball State vs. Coastal Carolina Schlabach: Ball State vs. Troy
December 26th
Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida) Afternoon on ABC and the ESPN App Bonagura: Liberty vs. South Carolina Schlabach: Carolina Coast vs. South Carolina
Cure Bowl
World Camping Stadium (Orlando, Florida) Afternoon on ESPN and ESPN App Bonagura: Marshall vs. Louisiana Schlabach: Marshall vs. Louisiana
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl Gerald J.Ford Stadium (Dallas) 3:30 pm on ABC and ESPN App Bonagura: Boise State vs. UTSA Schlabach: Boise State vs. UTSA
LendingTree Bowl Set fight: Western Kentucky vs. State of Georgia Ladd-Peebles Stadium (Mobile, Alabama) 3:30 pm on ESPN and the ESPN App
Radiance Technologies’ Bowl of Freedom Independence Stadium (Shreveport, Louisiana) 7pm on the ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Army vs. Nebraska Schlabach: Army vs. Nebraska
Guaranteed Price Bowls Chase Field (Phoenix) 10:15 am on the ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Minnesota vs. Texas Tech Schlabach: Texas Tech vs. Wisconsin
December 28th
Military Bowl Brought to you by Perspecta Naval-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (Annapolis, Maryland) 2:30 pm on the ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Troy vs. Navy Schlabach: Liberty vs. Navy
December 29th
Cheez-It Bowl World Camping Stadium (Orlando, Florida) 5:30 pm on the ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Miami vs. Oklahoma Schlabach: Miami vs. Oklahoma
Valero Alamo bowl Alamodome (San Antonio) 9pm on the ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Texas vs. Colorado Schlabach: Texas vs. Colorado
December 30th
Mayo Duke bowl Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, North Carolina) Afternoon on ESPN and ESPN App Bonagura: Wake Forest vs. Wisconsin Schlabach: Wake Forest vs. Minnesota
TransPerfect Music City Bowl Nissan Stadium (Nashville, Tennessee) 3:30 pm on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Iowa vs Kentucky Schlabach: Iowa vs Kentucky
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas) 7:15 pm on the ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M Schlabach: Oklahoma vs. Florida
December 31st
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Amon G. Carter Stadium (Fort Worth, Texas) Afternoon on ESPN and ESPN App Bonagura: Baylor vs. State of Mississippi Schlabach: Arizona State vs. Mississippi State
AutoZone Liberty Bowl Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium (Memphis, Tennessee) 4pm on the ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: West Virginia vs. Tennessee Schlabach: West Virginia vs. Tennessee
Arizona Bowl Arizona Stadium (Tucson, Arizona) 4 pm on CBSSN Bonagura: Buffalo vs. San Jose State Schlabach: Buffalo vs. San Jose State
Texas Bowl NRG Stadium (Houston) 8 nights on the ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: TCU vs. Arkansas Schlabach: TCU vs. Arkansas
January 1st
TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl Legion Square (Birmingham, Alabama) Afternoon on ESPN2 and the ESPN App Bonagura: Tulsa Vs. UAB Schlabach: Tulsa Vs. UAB
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) 12:30 pm on the ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Georgia vs. Cincinnati Schlabach: Georgia vs. Cincinnati
Vrbo Orange Bowl World Camping Stadium (Orlando, Florida) 13.00 on the ABC and ESPN App Bonagura: Indiana vs. Auburn Schlabach: Indiana vs. Auburn
January 2
TaxSlayer Gator bowl TIAA Bank Field (Jacksonville, Florida) Afternoon on ESPN and ESPN App Bonagura: NC State vs. Ole Miss Schlabach: NC State vs. Ole Miss
Outback Bowl Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida) 12:30 pm on ABC and ESPN App Bonagura: Northwestern vs. Missouri Schlabach: Northwestern vs. Missouri
PlayStation Fiesta Bowl State Farm Stadium (Glendale, Arizona) 4pm on the ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Oregon vs. Iowa State Schlabach: Oregon vs. Iowa State
Capital One Orange Bowl Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida) 8 nights on the ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Florida vs. North Carolina Schlabach: Texas A&M vs. North Carolina
Bowl game canceled
Bowl matches that have been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic:
Alabama Play-by-play broadcaster Eli Gold said his so-called 409-game streak will expire on Saturday when he recovers from COVID-19.
Gold, 66, said on Thursday that he and his wife had tested positive for the virus. He makes the announcement during coach Nick Saban’s weekly radio show, which he does remotely.
Gold, who grew up in New York, took over as Crimson Tide broadcaster in 1988. He also mentions NFL games.
Saban, 69, recently recovered from COVID-19. He is diagnosed two days before Thanksgiving and forced to watch Auburn’s game from home. It was the first game Saban missed since he was a 22-year-old graduate assistant at Kent State and his father died.
Crimson Tide is top rated to play at Arkansas on Saturday.
On Friday, the SEC announced a roster of games for the final two weeks of the regular season, due to delays from the start of the season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The conference will play six games on December 12 – an open date set for all schools at the start of the season – and up to five games on December 19, including SEC championship matches.
number 5 Texas A&M (6-1) is scheduled to host Be Miss on December 12, a match originally scheduled for November 21 but was postponed due to COVID-19 issues in the Aggies program. Ole Miss has suspended team activities due to an increase in positive COVID-19 tests in its program and is scheduled to resume its activities on Wednesday.
The Aggies’ ability to play each of their last matches is a key part of their potential University Football Playoff hopes. The same is true for No. 6 Florida (7-1), who was scheduled to host LSU on 12 December in a match postponed from 17 October. The Gators currently lead SEC East.
Number 1 Alabama (8-0) and Arkansas were originally scheduled to meet this Saturday but have postponed their play a week to December 12 to accommodate Crimson Tide’s rescheduled match with LSU this weekend. The other December 12th match is Blonde in State of Mississippi, No. 8 Georgia in Missouri and Tennessee in Vanderbilt.
In addition to SEC championship matches, on December 19 Ole Miss will travel to LSU and Missouri to travel to the State of Mississippi. Other games tentatively scheduled for that date are Texas A&M in Tennessee and Vanderbilt in Georgia. If Texas A&M and / or Georgia qualify for an SEC championship match, games not played by each team on that day will be declared no contest by the SEC.
