Appalachian State vs. Louisiana football game next Wednesday postponed by COVID-19

A rematch of the last two Sun Belt championship games will have to wait.

Wednesday night’s game between Appalachian State and Louisiana has been postponed because of positive tests for COVID-19 and contact tracing, App State announced Thursday.

“The health and safety of our student-athletes and university community remain our top priorities as we continue to navigate the unprecedented effects of the coronavirus pandemic,” athletics director Doug Gillin said through a news release. “While we share in the disappointment of everyone who has worked hard to prepare for this football game, we have known that there will be challenges to maintaining the athletics calendar.”

The rematch will be scheduled for Dec. 4 or 5, which will become App State’s final regular-season game. The Sun Belt championship game is slated for Dec. 5, but that seems unlikely to remain the case with App State and Louisiana as the league’s recent top teams. The conference allows for the possibility of the championship game to move to Dec. 12 or 19.

App State has beaten Louisiana four times in the past two years — twice in the regular season (both by 10 points) and twice in the first two Sun Belt championship games, by scores of 30-19 and 45-38.

“While we are disappointed that we will not be able to play Louisiana next week, we are prioritizing the health and safety of our team, our staff and the university community,” coach Shawn Clark said.

App State’s next game is against another common foe — that’ll be former Southern Conference rival Georgia Southern on Oct. 14 (also a Wednesday). Georgia Southern has been the only Sun Belt team to beat App State in each of the last two seasons — the Eagles lost to Louisiana 20-18 on a last-play, 53-yard field goal last weekend.

This story was originally published October 1, 2020 at 12:03 PM.