We have some troubling news out of Ann Arbor and it has everything to do with the potential of The Game between Ohio State and Michigan being played in less than two weeks.
We’ve already heard news that Michigan paused football activities because of some rising coronavirus positive tests coming back, and now, it looks like the program has officially canceled the game this Weekend against Maryland on Saturday. More than that, according to Chris Balas of “The Wolverine,” the situation does not appear to be getting any better. In fact, Balas would “bet heavily against” a game next weekend (Ohio State) as well.
This is clearly not good news for an Ohio State program that is trying desperately to limp to the finish line of the season and have enough games played (six) to be eligible for the Big Ten Championship Game. The team has worked very hard to get back in a good place with its own positive COVID-19 tests to get back on the field and prep for Michigan State. That could all be for not if the Wolverines can’t play the weekend after.
Sources: Michigan football's situation has not gotten better on the COVID front. At this point, we'd bet heavily against games this week or next.
— Chris Balas (@Balas_Wolverine) December 2, 2020
As a reminder, Ohio State and Michigan have played every single year since 1918. To not play in 2020 would surely remind everyone where things stand in the world today with a pandemic that has gripped the world for almost nine months now.
This news also comes after ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit suggested that Michigan might use the coronavirus situation to duck playing Ohio State for fear of a very, very bad result. He later apologized, but the critics will be out in full force if Michigan can’t play. It also means the Buckeye staff might want to start calling Nebraska who will most likely be sitting at home as Minnesota deals with its own coronavirus situation as well.
It must be noted that the game is still a week and a half away and that things could be in a better spot then. We don’t want to put the cart before the proverbial horse here, but the trend is not good.
We’ll stay on top of what’s coming out of Ann Arbor as things progress.
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