BOCA RATON – At this rate, it’s safe to wonder whether FAU will take the field at all in 2020.
For the second time in less than a week FAU announced the postponement of its upcoming weekend football game, this one a home game against South Florida.
USF canceled practice earlier in the day in order to conduct contact tracing. Notre Dame pummeled USF on Saturday, then on Tuesday the Irish postponed their upcoming game against Wake Forest after discovering a COVID-19 outbreak within their team.
Contact tracing at USF identified enough Bulls that would have to sit out the game to render the game unplayable.
FAU found itself in a similar situation last week when an outbreak of positive tests combined with contact tracing left some position groups without enough players for its scheduled game at Georgia St.
Earlier on Wednesday, prior to the announced postponement, FAU coach Willie Taggart announced that the Owls hadn’t recorded any additional positive COVID tests this week. That didn’t mean the Owls would have been on full strength on Saturday.
Taggart estimated that quarantine rules in place following contact tracing would have kept 15-20 players off the field.
FAU’s first two games of the season, at Minnesota and vs. Stony Brook, were canceled months ago. The Owls No. 21 game against Old Dominion is also canceled. The Monarchs canceled all fall sports for this season.
The Owls now eye an Oct. 3 home game against Conference USA-opponent Charlotte as their 2020 season opener.
The 49ers, though, have issues of the their own, after canceling last week’s game against North Carolina because of COVID-19 concerns. As of now Charlotte’s scheduled game against Georgia St. is expected to be played.
When and if FAU does launch the 20th football season in program history, the Owls will enter October with an undefeated record for the first time in program history.
Recent Comments