Ole Miss vs. Texas A&M Postponed for 2nd Time Because of COVID-19

Saturday's scheduled SEC football game between Ole Miss and No. 5 Texas A&M has been postponed after there were positive tests for COVID-19 within the Ole Miss program, the conference announced Monday.

On Dec. 19, the last date on the SEC calendar, Ole Miss is currently scheduled to play LSU and the Aggies are scheduled to play Tennessee. Three other games are scheduled for that day, and the rescheduling of Saturday's matchup depends on any cancellation of those games.

Ole Miss announced Friday—after two separate one-day suspensions—that it would suspend football activities until at least Wednesday following positive tests. The team had a scheduled bye last Saturday.

The SEC requires 53 players to be available on game day.

According to Nick Suss of the Mississippi Clarion Ledger, the Rebels had "a handful of positive tests" last Monday and "additional positives" on Wednesday, which led to the first shutdown. Per Suss, this is the first time that the Rebels have had to put the program on pause this season.

The game was originally scheduled to be played Nov. 21, but that game was postponed as the Aggies dealt with an outbreak of COVID-19 that also canceled their earlier game against Tennessee, now scheduled for Dec. 19.

The Dec. 19 Ole Miss-LSU game is also a rescheduled contest. It was scheduled for Dec. 5 but was moved to accommodate schedule adjustments across the conference.

Dec. 19 will also play host to the SEC Championship Game, but teams that did not qualify to play will be able to play rescheduled games on that day as the conference's top two teams battle it out at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

No. 1 Alabama clinched a spot in the title game with a win against LSU on Saturday and will play No. 6 Florida for the championship.

The Ole Miss men's basketball program was also dealing with an outbreak of the virus, prompting the cancellation of the Justin Reed Ole Miss Classic during Thanksgiving week. Per Suss, the team was set to return to practice Monday.