Florida Gators Football

Saturday's game between the LSU Tigers and Florida Gators was postponed because of the COVID-19 outbreak with Florida's team.

The SEC announced the news Wednesday and stated the game was rescheduled for Dec. 12:

The Gators announced that athletic director Scott Stricklin would address the media at 2 p.m. ET Wednesday to discuss the program's outbreak.

The University of Florida announced Tuesday that there were five positive COVID-19 tests in the program in the past week. All football activities were shut down.

As first reported by Payton Titus of the Independent Florida Alligator on Tuesday and confirmed by ESPN's Andrea Adelson, the Gators have had 19 positive COVID-19 tests between players, coaches and personnel.

The game was the second SEC contest this week to be impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Vanderbilt at Missouri was postponed because the Commodores fell short of the SEC minimum of 53 scholarship players.

The Gators were scheduled to host LSU at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at 4 p.m. ET Saturday.

After urging the University of Florida to allow fans to "pack the Swamp" Saturday against LSU, Gators head coach Dan Mullen has instead suggested the school follow local health guidelines amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mullen had said the crowd was a factor in last week's loss at Texas A&M and that he wanted 100 percent capacity at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday. He walked back those comments Wednesday, a day after his program shut down because of 19 positive tests for the virus, according to ESPN's Alex Scarborough.

"I certainly apologize if I offended people," he said.

Mullen added, "Whatever our local health officials come out and say, 'This is the number of people that we're going to allow at the game right now,' that I want to encourage those people to come in, bring the energy, bring the excitement in the stadium and help our team to win."

Florida is allowing 20 percent capacity at home games this season, which equates to roughly 17,000 fans, all of whom must wear face coverings unless eating or drinking.

Mullen said two assistant coaches are among the 19 cases in the program and both were asymptomatic. The Athletic's G. Allan Taylor reported Wednesday that 10 additional players were in quarantine after possible exposure to the virus.

SEC guidelines state 53 scholarship players must be active for a game, and there are specific requirements on the number of scholarship offensive (seven) and defensive linemen (four) and quarterbacks (one). Taylor reported "most" of the 29 players affected by the outbreak are on scholarship and that the Gators—who are also missing players because of injuries and opt-outs—may struggle to meet the requirement in at least one area, but they can still elect to play.

LSU coach Ed Orgeron was supportive of a postponement.

"If the best thing for us is not to play, we shouldn't play," he told reporters Wednesday.

LSU would perhaps be without quarterback Myles Brennan if the game goes ahead. He was injured in last week's loss to Missouri and has not practiced this week.

The University of Florida's football program is experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak that may force a postponement of Saturday's game against LSU, according to The Athletic's G. Allan Taylor.

Florida paused football activities Tuesday after revealing five positive cases, but Taylor reported there are 19 positive cases within the program and another 10 players in quarantine because of possible exposure.

LSU coach Ed Orgeron said Wednesday that he would support a postponement.

"If the best thing for us is not to play, we shouldn't play," he told reporters.

SEC guidelines state that at least 53 scholarship players must be active for a game, and Taylor reported that "most of the 29 players currently sidelined are on scholarship." The 53 players must include seven offensive linemen, four defensive linemen and a quarterback, and according to Taylor, the Gators may not meet the requirement in one position area.

Taylor also reported that a number of players are working through injuries, including offensive lineman Ethan White, backup quarterback Emory Jones and safety Brad Stewart, with Stewart in the concussion protocol.

If they cannot produce a 53-player roster, the Gators can still elect to play, but as Taylor noted, "that would put a great deal of stress on the roster."

Should the LSU game be postponed, it will likely be moved to Dec. 12, the same day Missouri is scheduled to play Vanderbilt after a COVID-19 outbreak at Vanderbilt forced last week's contest to be moved.

Teams in the SEC are tested for COVID-19 three times per week, though Florida has elected to be tested daily since Saturday. Players who test positive can return to football activities within 10 days, but players who are exposed must quarantine for two weeks. Any player who returns a positive test does not need to be retested for 90 days and does not need to quarantine in the event they have contact with a new positive case.

At Florida, 37 players have tested positive through 1,796 tests administered since May 26. No players have been hospitalized, per Taylor.

The University of Florida temporarily paused activities for its football team after confirming earlier Tuesday it had five new positive COVID-19 tests within the program.

"Head coach Dan Mullen has been in communication with football players and their parents, and I have had conversations with the Southeastern Conference office, last week's opponent Texas A&M, and this week's opponent LSU," athletic director Scott Stricklin said. "These circumstances will be re-evaluated by UF Health and the athletic department's sports medicine staff Wednesday."

The Gators lost a road game to Texas A&M on Oct. 10. They're scheduled to play LSU at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, having moved the game back by 30 minutes.

Tuesday's news comes a few days after head coach Dan Mullen publicly stated he was hopeful of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium being at capacity against the Tigers. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has lifted attendance restrictions for stadiums across the state.

"I know our governor passed that rule, so certainly, hopefully, the university administration decides to let us pack The Swamp for LSU next week," Mullen told reporters. "One hundred percent because that crowd was a major factor in the game. So I certainly hope our university administration follows the governor."

Since Florida will re-evaluate the situation Wednesday, it's unclear whether the LSU game is in imminent jeopardy of being postponed. A number of games across FBS have been shuffled around due to positive COVID-19 results.

Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen said after his team's 41-38 loss at Texas A&M on Saturday that he wanted to "see 90,000 [fans] in The Swamp" amid the COVID-19 pandemic for this week's matchup with LSU. 

On Monday, reporters gave Mullen three separate chances to walk back those comments. He declined the opportunity, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN). 

One reporter asked him if he spoke to athletic director Scott Stricklin about his comments. Mullens said, "No, I've been worried about trying to beat LSU."

Another reporter asked him if he regretted the comments and whether he'd spoken to school president Kent Fuchs:

"Yeah, I've been preparing for LSU. But, I mean, I'll be honest. I think if you look at what we've been able to do, the safety precautions we have that our players have followed, our coaches follow, our staff follows, you know, I think we're a model of safety of what we've been doing during this time period.

"So I'm really proud of how we've handled everything and how safe we've been with everything we're doing and all the precautions we've had in place during this time."

Finally, a reporter asked if Mullen comprehended how having that many people closely packed together for several hours during a global pandemic could be a bad idea: 

"I think Texas A&M, actually, they created a great atmosphere at the game, created an exciting atmosphere, you know? I thought they did a great job of doing that. ... I haven't talked to people because I've been really focused on trying to beat LSU.

"But, you know, whatever our government officials all say and what everybody does for the game, what we do need to do is however many people they allow into the stadium, we need to try to work as hard as we can—all the Gator fans and all of us—to create the best game-day atmosphere we can.''

In Mullen's original comments, he said "hopefully, the UF administration decides to let us pack The Swamp against LSU—100 percent—because that crowd was certainly a factor in the game."

He continued:

"Absolutely want to see 90,000 in The Swamp. I don't think the section behind our bench, I didn't see an empty seat. It was packed. The student section, there must have been 50,000 behind our bench going crazy. Hopefully that creates a home-field advantage for us next week because now we passed a law in our state that we can do that. We want our students out there cheering us on to give us that home-field advantage.''

In Florida, state laws would allow for stadiums to be at full capacity. But Fuchs quickly shot down any chance of that happening in the foreseeable future: 

At a time when multiple NFL and college football games are being postponed because of outbreaks within organizations and teams, Mullen's comments were surprising, to say the least. And Florida saw 5,600 new cases of the coronavirus over the weekend, per Chris Persaud of the Palm Beach Post, bringing its total to 734,494 cases and 15,552 deaths.

Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen expressed his hope Saturday that more fans will be allowed to attend next weekend's home game against the LSU Tigers.

After falling 41-38 at the Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday, Mullen said the following, according to Graham Hall of the Gainesville Sun: "Hopefully the university administration follows the governor's ruling ... to let us pack the Swamp and give us the home-field advantage that Texas A&M had today."

Texas A&M was allowed to fill Kyle Field to 25 percent of capacity Saturday amid the COVID-19 pandemic, though the crowd appeared to be large and raucous during the No. 21 Aggies' upset of the No. 4 Gators:

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday that sports teams can fill their venues to capacity under Phase 3 of the state's reopening plan.

Despite receiving clearance to have 65,000 fans in the stands, the NFL's Miami Dolphins have reportedly decided to stick with a partial capacity of roughly 13,000 fans.

It remains unclear what the University of Florida's plan will be.

Per Mark Long of the Associated Press, it seems unlikely that more than 17,000 tickets will be made available for next week's game since 2,000 tickets went unsold for last week's game against South Carolina.

Florida's College Football Playoff hopes took a major hit Saturday when the Gators blew an 11-point lead in the second half and the Aggies beat them with a field goal as time expired. Florida squandered a four-touchdown performance by quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate Kyle Trask.

Florida fell to 2-1, and it will face a 1-2 LSU team that is ranked 17th but has lost to unranked Mississippi State and now Missouri, which upset the Tigers 45-41 on Saturday.

Clemson running back Demarkcus Bowman will transfer to Florida after making just two appearances with the Tigers.

Bowman, who entered the NCAA's transfer portal earlier this week, announced his selection to Joseph Hastings of GatorsTerritory on Saturday.

The Lakeland, Florida, native told David Hood of TigerNet he decided to transfer after his grandfathers died in recent months.

"The only reason I came to Clemson is so my mother's dad could watch me play," Bowman said Thursday. "He stayed in Atlanta, but he passed away, and that really hurt me. He was my closest family to me up there, and I just didn't feel comfortable anymore. I just want to go to a school closer to home."

He called Clemson "a very great program" but said it wasn't the fit for him.

Bowman joined the Tigers' 2020 recruiting class as a 5-star prospect, the No. 20 overall player in the class and the third-best rusher, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

He played a reserve role in Clemson's first two games of the season, rushing for 32 yards on nine carries.

Bowman, who was recruited by Florida in high school, told Blake Alderman of 247Sports that the Gators were always high on his list.

"Florida has been close to home and I have always been a Florida fan and they have always been a major factor growing up," he said. "We had a pipeline from Lakeland High School long before I was there. I just felt it was closer to home and have former high school teammates I played with and it's always been a dream school."

It's not clear whether Bowman will be eligible for Florida in 2021.

Florida quarterback Kyle Trask threw six touchdown passes in a 51-35 win over Ole Miss on Saturday, and he set or tied numerous records along the way.

For starters, he tied ex-LSU quarterback, Heisman Trophy winner and current Cincinnati Bengals signal-caller Joe Burrow for the most touchdown passes ever in an SEC conference opener, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy compared Trask and Burrow's efforts:

Per Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel, Trask's six touchdown passes were also the most by a Gator quarterback since Chris Leak against South Carolina in 2004.

Trask also threw four touchdown passes in the first half, and that tied some records as well, per ESPN Stats & Info:

In addition, tight end Kyle Pitts had himself a day, catching eight of nine passes for 170 yards and four touchdowns. He tied the school record for receiving scores on Saturday.

The No. 5 Gators will now host South Carolina on Saturday at noon ET. 

Florida Gators safety Shawn Davis Jr. was ejected in the first quarter of the team's 51-35 win over Ole Miss on Saturday after he was flagged for targeting. 

Officials felt Davis hit Dontario Drummond helmet-to-helmet contact, but the senior defensive back made clear on Twitter he disagreed the call:

Despite his protestations, Davis clearly hit a defenseless receiver with his helmet, and arguably late as well. It was avoidable contact, and he deserved his ejection based on the current rules of college football. 

Davis will be available for next week's game against South Carolina. 

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, home of the Florida Gators football team, caught fire on Saturday. 

Per Claudia Bellofatto of ABC 20 in Gainesville, Florida, the Gainesville Fire Rescue confirmed there was a fire and they were able to put it out. 

The Gators announced the cause of the fire on Twitter and revealed there was no structural damage to the stadium:

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium has been the University of Florida's football home since 1930. The Gators have a separate facility for football practices. 

Florida's first football game of the 2020 season is scheduled for Sept. 26 against Mississippi at Vaught Hemingway Stadium. The Gators will host South Carolina at the Swamp in their first home game Oct. 3.