Baylor-Oklahoma State postponed until December

Following the second bye week of the season, the Texas Longhorns are scheduled to host the Baylor Bears in Austin on Oct. 24.

However, Baylor recently suspended all football activities following recent positive tests in order to conduct more contact tracing.

“At this time and in the interest of our student-athletes, coaches, and staff, we have temporarily suspended all football-related activities. Their health and wellness will always be our top priority,” Baylor athletics director Mack Rhoades said on Thursday. “We are taking all possible precautions and our focus remains playing the scheduled game with Oklahoma State at McLane Stadium on October 17.”

On Sunday, the situation escalated with the announcement that Baylor and Oklahoma State will not play next weekend’s game as scheduled, instead postponing it until December on the recommendation of medical advisors. The two teams will attempt to make it up on Dec. 12.

The postponement marks another difficult development for the Bears program under first-year head coach Dave Aranda — Baylor was set to open the season against Louisiana Tech, but displacement from Hurricane Laura caused 38 Bulldogs players to test positive for COVID-19 in the aftermath.

Then, Baylor scheduled a last-minute game against Houston, but had to cancel because the Bears did not meet the Big 12 standards for playing due to a shortage of offensive linemen.

So the Bears have only played two games so far this season and will enter the game against the Longhorns with limited experience under Aranda following an easy win over Kansas and a double-overtime loss to West Virginia. That also means that Texas won’t have much film on Baylor, but the biggest current concern is whether the Bears can keep from having new positive tests and start practice again in the near future after conducting contact tracing.

And that contact tracing is a potential threat to the game in Austin because there’s a minimum 14-day quarantine for any players who came into contact with a COVID-positive player.