Auburn football: Tigers week 1 opponent cancels season

Another game on Auburn’s 2020 schedule is unlikely to happen

Earlier in the month, it was reported that the ACC would likely be moving to a conference-only schedule for fall sports. With North Carolina slated as Auburn football’s week two opponent, the announcement essentially moved that game off the table.

Well, if you’re an Auburn fan hoping that that would be the only game lost this season, I have bad news for you.

Per Stadium’s Brett McMurphy, the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is planning on canceling all of their fall sports.

Auburn was scheduled to begin their season against current SWAC champions Alcorn State at Jordan-Hare Stadium. With the recent news, it’s becoming clearer that Auburn’s 2020 season will look very different than originally planned if it even happens at all.

The ACC’s decision to move to a conference-only schedule earlier in the month came shortly after both the Big Ten and the Pac-12 announced the same thing. On a smaller level, several other FCS leagues such as the MEAC, Patriot League, Ivy League and the CAA have all canceled their respective football seasons while JUCO football is expected to be pushed to the spring.

As for Alcorn State, the Braves went 9-4 last season and won their second-straight conference championship behind the arm of star quarterback Felix Harper.

With the number of cancelled games for Auburn now likely at two, it wouldn’t be surprising for the SEC to soon announce a conference-only schedule for 2020. The remaining non-conference games on the Tigers’ schedule are a week four battle against Southern Miss and a home game against UMass in November.

If a non-conference schedule doesn’t appeal to the SEC, the conference could vote to either cancel the season completely or possibly try and move the season to the Spring. Either way, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has affected college football in a major way.