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No news yesterday, and not much news today. But a new virus outbreak on the football team is certainly noteworthy.
Last week Coach Klieman rearranged practice schedules due to the election. This week the team is trying to work around a new spate of viral infections. Kellis Robinett reports that eight members of the football team have tested positive for COVID-19, and though it appears most of those affected are younger players, their absence will still affect practice plans in the lead-up to K-State’s November 21 meeting with Iowa State for the annual Farmageddon rivalry game.
The article also notes that since the start of the pandemic, an eye-popping 75 members of the team have tested positive. Apparently that number is not out of line with the experience of other programs. USA Today reports that 50 FBS games have been canceled due to the pandemic, including 13 since the beginning of November, alone. The SEC has announced that Auburn and Mississippi State’s scheduled contest will not be played Saturday, and it appears LSU vs. Alabama may be threatened, too. After fans stormed the field and threw parties to celebrate Notre Dame’s upset of No. 1 Clemson, the university announced that students will be subject to mandatory testing and strict penalties if they leave South Bend before receiving test results.
With case confirmations now topping 100,000 per day nationally—before the holiday season is quite upon us, no less—it appears we are falling short in our efforts to manage the pandemic. Finishing the football season might prove more an act of stubborn (and perhaps foolish) insistence than of any true triumph over these difficult conditions.
Undaunted, the league has announced that K-State and Iowa State intend to tee up Farmageddon in Ames at 3:00 p.m. CST on November 21, with the agrarian hostilities broadcast on Fox.
For undisclosed reasons, Friday’s soccer finale against Texas Tech has been moved up to 5:00. The contest will air on ESPN+ and 101.5 KROCK and can be heard free on kstatesports.com.
In K-State Sports Extra, Austin Siegel features the lone senior on the volleyball squad, Shelby Martin, leading the article with a story of a unique set she made after the ball rolled around atop the Bramlage Coliseum scoreboard.
Help may be coming, if we can find a way to ship and store a promising vaccine at an ultracold -94 degrees Fahrenheit. Until then, stay safe. If you can...stay home.