The holding pattern for the postponed LSU-Florida game continues.
The game was postponed because of Hurricane Matthew, and LSU athletic director Joe Alleva squelched one potential resolution that has been floated in recent days. Alleva told reporters that the Tigers will not consider playing the Gators on Nov. 19, when both teams have non-conference home games. LSU is scheduled to play South Alabama that day while Florida hosts FCS Presbyterian.
“What I said the other day about this game being very difficult to reschedule is still true,” Alleva said. “One thing we’re going to hold very firm on is that we have a home game on Nov. 19 and we’re going to have a home game on Nov. 19. We are going to have a game on Nov. 19. We are not going to change that situation.”
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Per The Advocate, LSU brings in “more than $3 million” for a home game, with “more than $10 million” in revenue benefiting the greater Baton Rouge community — a region hit hard by flooding earlier in the year. On top of that, a $1.5 million buyout would have to be paid to South Alabama to cancel the game.
With Nov. 19 out of the equation, a few other dates, Oct. 29 and Dec. 3, are being considered. But there are hurdles involved.
Oct. 29 (via The Advocate):
LSU’s normal bye week before the game against Alabama is on Oct. 29. Florida and Georgia are scheduled to play on Oct. 29. That game would have to be moved back a week to Oct. 22. The Gators and Bulldogs share a bye week on that date.
Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity called moving the UGA-UF game “impractical” during an interview on SEC Network on Monday. Alleva said he’d only only agree to playing on Oct. 29 if Alabama, which shares the bye week with LSU, would play an opponent that week.
“We have an open date before the Alabama game,” Alleva said of that option. “I’m not in favor of playing a game unless Alabama plays a game on that day.”
Dec. 3 (via The Advocate):
In order to play on Dec. 3, the league would need to push back the SEC championship game to Dec. 10, something that could impact the College Football Playoff schedule. LSU president F. King Alexander told Tiger Rag on Sunday that the Dec. 3 date works best for the Tigers.
“There’s an option of Dec. 3, when the conference championship game is,” Alleva said. “I don’t know if that’s going to be an option because there’s TV contracts and (Georgia) Dome contracts. I’ll get back to what I said: it’s going to be very difficult to reschedule this game.”
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said Saturday on CBS that the game “needs to be played.” He reiterated that stance in a statement Monday.
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“The presidents and athletics directors from Florida and LSU agreed on Thursday that the schools and SEC Office would make every effort to find a scheduling solution to their postponed game,” the statement said. “As I have said, we need to play the game and we need to have people come together to find a way to make that happen. We continue to work with the universities to play this game.”
Added Florida AD Jeremy Foley: “We understand the importance of playing this game and we want to play this game. We continue to work with the SEC and LSU to make that happen.”
The game, or lack thereof, could have a big impact on the SEC. The conference decides division winners based on winning percentage, so if LSU or Florida finished 6-1 in SEC play, it would advance to the title game over a 6-2 team. Both teams are 2-1 in conference play thus far.
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
