It has been a difficult year for the Wisconsin Badger football program, and that may even be an understatement.
First, the Big Ten canceled their fall season and it looked like the team wouldn’t play. Then, the season was reinstated but starting quarterback Jack Coan broke his foot in practice. Finally, after a dominant Week 1 win against Illinois the program experienced a COVID-19 outbreak and was sidelined for two weeks.
As we’ve gone over, missing those two games put the Badgers on the brink of failing to play six regular-season games, something which would make them ineligible to play in the conference championship.
Related: How Wisconsin can still make the Big Ten Championship game
Well, the chain of events got worse last night as Minnesota writer Andy Greder reported that the Golden Gophers “will not practice Tuesday due to ‘presumptive COVID-19 positive tests Monday'” ahead of their game on Saturday against the Badgers.
NEWS: #Gophers football team will not practice Tuesday due to "presumptive COVID-19 positive tests Monday," school said. "The team's goal is to return to a regular practice schedule on Wednesday in preparation for Saturday’s game at Wisconsin."
— Andy Greder (@andygreder) November 24, 2020
After seeing what happened within the Wisconsin football program, this news puts Saturday’s battle for the Axe in serious doubt.
If the Badgers and Golden Gophers are indeed unable to play, the Badgers would then be ineligible for the conference championship game unless they’re able to find another Big Ten opponent who is without a game this week.
Related: What Northwestern HC Pat Fitzgerald said about Wisconsin after the game
Stay tuned to BadgersWire as we follow the news surrounding Saturday’s game and tell you what it means for the rest of the Badgers’ football season.