UPDATE:
According to a report from Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune, a Big Ten schedule which is expected to be front-loaded with divisional games could be released as early as today.
From Chicago Tribune:
Original Article:
To be completely honest, I don’t believe there will be college football season in 2020 but I really hope I’m completely wrong.
The Big Ten has already announced that they will only play division games in 2020, rather than a traditional schedule which generally includes a few out of conference games.
Earlier this month, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said one thing that has been considered is frontloading the schedules with divisional games, while prioritizing the most important games.
One of those important games is Michigan vs. Ohio State, which is traditionally the final game of the regular season.
But could the Wolverines and Buckeyes actually square off in September during what would be a COVID-19 shortened season?
According to Joey Kaufman of the Columbus Dispatch, this is a possibility.
Such a scheduling model could turn the Ohio State-Michigan game into an early-season affair, a break from longstanding tradition.
Almost exclusively since 1935, the Buckeyes and Wolverines have played on the final weekend of the regular season in an often-climactic matchup between the powerhouse programs.
While a meeting in September or October would be nontraditional, Park, a longtime historian of the Buckeyes’ program, thought the idea makes sense for a season played during a coronavirus pandemic.
“I don’t think it’d bother the rivalry very much,” Park said, “because I think everybody would look at it as a temporary thing and it’s being done for the right reasons: to have a much better chance of playing the game rather than waiting until the last weekend of November when there’s maybe a greater chance we wouldn’t be playing football.
“In my opinion, I’d rather see it played in September if there’s a greater chance of it being played.”
What do you think, Nation? Would you be ok with Michigan taking on Ohio State in September?
