TCU’s football game against SMU had to be postponed because there weren’t enough players on the Horned Frogs ready to take the field.
According to Bruce Feldman, Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby revealed that the September 11 game was postponed because TCU didn’t meet the roster minimum for the number of eligible players during the coronavirus pandemic. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
Big 12 teams must have 53 players, seven offensive linemen, four defensive linemen and one quarterback in order to play. Bowlsby anticipates more games will meet the same fate.
Big 12 commish Bob Bowlsby said #TCU did not meet the established Big 12 roster guidelines (53 players, 7 OL, 4 DL, 1 QB) for its game vs #SMU Friday that was postponed: “I don’t think TCU-SMU will be the last one we won’t be able to play. We will have disruptions.”
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) September 7, 2020
In terms of the nightmare scenarios in the world of college football, this is the one that people are most worried about.
If a team finds themselves in a situation where the roster has been decimated because of coronavirus tests and contact tracing, then there’s no way they can take the field.
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Apparently, that’s the situation TCU found themselves in before the first game of the season even happened.
Do I think there’s a reason to panic? No. It’s one Big 12 game that had to be postponed and it wasn’t even a conference game.
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I’m really not worried at all. It’s certainly not an ideal situation, but it’s not going to derail the season.
Now, if this happens in the middle of the season, then we’re talking about a different situation. Let’s hope that’s not a conversation we ever have to worry about having.