SEC clears Nick Saban to coach Alabama versus Georgia

Alabama football coach Nick Saban will be back on the sideline against Georgia after all

Virus Outbreak Alabama Saban Football (Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Alabama coach Nick Saban will be back on the sideline against Georgia after all.

The Southeastern Conference cleared Saban on Saturday to coach in the game after he tested negative for COVID-19 the past three days.

The move came hours ahead of Saturday night's game between the second-ranked Crimson Tide and No. 3 Bulldogs.

Saban had initially tested positive on Wednesday, along with athletic director Greg Byrne. Team physician Jimmy Robinson said Saban was tested the next three mornings, and the initial result was deemed a false positive.

“Those three negative tests satisfied the SEC protocol for a false positive,” Robinson said. “Out of an abundance of caution, two additional PCR tests were administered at the same time on Thursday and Friday and were tested by a separate lab. Those tests were also negative.”

The initial positive came from an outside lab Alabama had used to supplement the testing mandated by the SEC.

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