Tag: B1G Ten

Big Ten opts for conference-only football schedule this coming fall

The decision by the Big Ten is expected to create a domino effect throughout the college football landscape as others are assured to follow.

The Big Ten athletic conference announced on Thursday that its member schools will play a conference-only schedule for the upcoming 2020 football season.

Word of the decision leaked earlier in the day when The Athletic’s college football senior writer Nicole Auerbach revealed the news on Twitter. USA TODAY Sports later corroborated the report with multiple people who have intimate knowledge of the decision.

The full press release from the conference is included below.

We are facing uncertain and unprecedented times, and the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes, coaches, game officials, and others associated with our sports programs and campuses remain our number one priority.

To that end, the Big Ten Conference announced today that if the Conference is able to participate in fall sports (men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, football, men’s and women’s soccer, and women’s volleyball) based on medical advice, it will move to Conference-only schedules in those sports. Details for these sports will be released at a later date, while decisions on sports not listed above will continue to be evaluated. By limiting competition to other Big Ten institutions, the Conference will have the greatest flexibility to adjust its own operations throughout the season and make quick decisions in real-time based on the most current evolving medical advice and the fluid nature of the pandemic.

This decision was made following many thoughtful conversations over several months between the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors, Directors of Athletics, Conference Office staff, and medical experts including the Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee.

In addition, the Conference announced that summer athletic activities will continue to be voluntary in all sports currently permitted to engage in such activities. Furthermore, Big Ten student-athletes who choose not to participate in intercollegiate athletics at any time during the summer and/or the 2020-21 academic year due to concerns about COVID-19 will continue to have their scholarship honored by their institution and will remain in good standing with their team.

While Big Ten member institutions continue to rely on the most up-to-date medical information to establish the best protocols for voluntary workouts on their campuses, in compliance with local and state regulations, the Conference is working with the Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee to finalize Conference-wide protocols.

As we continue to focus on how to play this season in a safe and responsible way, based on the best advice of medical experts, we are also prepared not to play in order to ensure the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes should the circumstances so dictate.

The absence of non-conference opponents on a Power Five league schedule could have a big impact on smaller programs that rely on “guarantee games” at major schools for a big part of the athletic budget. It is unclear whether those contracts would call for a penalty payment.

The decision by the Big Ten is expected to create a domino effect throughout the college football landscape, as other conferences are almost assured to follow in the conference’s footsteps. The first league expected to follow suit is the Pac-12, which Auerbach reported in a later tweet is expected to move to a conference-only schedule in the coming days. Stadium Network college football insider Brett McMurphy also reported that the ACC is also strongly considering the change.

At best, the 2020 season will be a shadow of the sport that brings college communities together every fall. However, the most likely outcome at this point is that fans will be lucky if any sports are played at all.

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Ohio State beats Wisconsin in Big Ten Championship Game: 5 things we learned

Ohio State battled back to take control in the second half of the Big Ten Championship Game to beat Wisconsin. Here’s 5 things we learned.

Ohio State went to Indianapolis, got punched in the face, and had to punch back. It was really the first time this team has had to play from behind with a ton of adversity.

Nothing seemed to be going right for the Buckeyes in the first half, and many left this team for dead. But it didn’t matter. Ohio State stayed within itself and made the necessary adjustments to reel the game back in and take full control late to enjoy all the confetti falling.

At the end of it all, the program secures its third-straight Big Ten title, and likely punched its way to a top two seed in the College Football Playoff.

All credit to Wisconsin for playing tough and having a great game plan, but it wasn’t enough. Here’s three things we learned from what we saw Saturday night in Indianapolis.

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The Ohio State defense is not completely unflappable

This is now the third week in a row where we saw some leaks in the Buckeye defense. Things won’t always be perfect of course, but there are ways to move the ball against this team, and you’ll see other try to replicate some things Wisconsin, Michigan, and Penn State did against what had been the best defense in the country all year.

Now, it’s still a very good defense that’ll make stops, but there’s a little bit of concern on some communication and tackling issues that need to be addressed. It was great to see that unit buckle down in the 2nd half, but there needs to be a little improvement before the College Football Playoff hits.

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Next … Dobbins the grinder

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Ohio State vs. Wisconsin Big Ten Championship Game preview: 5 reasons the Buckeyes win

Ohio State handled Wisconsin pretty handily the first time around, now it has to beat the Badgers one more time in the Big Ten Championship.

The first one was so nice, they’re playing it twice.

Ohio State outlasted and outmanned the Wisconsin Badgers the first time around 38-7, and now it’s tasked with beating them again in the Big Ten Championship Game Saturday. They say it’s hard to beat a good team twice in one season, but the reality is, we’ve not really seen that in the Big Ten, or with the Buckeyes for that matter.

Either way, Wisconsin does have one of the best running backs in the country, a physical brand, and the culture to pick itself off the proverbial mat to try and make this one a game this time. Oh, and there’s a championship and trophy on the line, so getting up to play this one shouldn’t be an issue.

Here’s five reasons the Buckeyes win Saturday in Indianapolis

Deep and wide

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Ohio State vs. Michigan: 5 reasons the Buckeyes win The Game

The Game between Ohio State and Michigan is getting closer and closer. Here’s five reasons the Buckeyes beat the Wolverines Saturday.

It sure seems like we’ve said this on more than one occasion, but Ohio State is most likely about to meet its greatest challenge of 2019. The turnover bug hit a little bit last week against Penn State to keep things close, but the Buckeyes have still beaten every opponent on the schedule by two scores.

Now comes the big one, the annual grudge match against Michigan. And even though Ohio State has rented out the Wolverine program like a cheap timeshare over the last couple of years, Jim Harbaugh seems to have this team playing its best football of the season.

Still, there’s no denying that OSU is the more talented and deep team across the board. Here’s five reasons the Buckeyes beat the Wolverines on Saturday at high Noon.

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Next … Athlete on athlete

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Ohio State vs. Penn State: 5 reasons the Buckeyes win

Ohio State and Penn State are set to square off in a top ten college football matchup in the Big Ten. Here’s why we think the Buckeyes win.

We’ve said this before, but now we really mean it. Everything up until now has been pointing to this very game. It’s No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 8 Penn State and there’s a slew of things on the line. If the Buckeyes win, they clinch the outright Big Ten East title and an all-expenses paid trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship Game.

If Penn State wins, it will most likely get at least a share of the Big Ten East title because it plays a Rutgers team next week that’s still trying to figure out how to play American football. Couple that with owning the head-to-head tiebreaker over OSU, and it would be off to Indy even if the Buckeyes beat the Wolverines a week later.

Both keep a shot at the College Football Playoff alive with a win. Penn State would more or less be eliminated with a loss, and Ohio State would have to have some things break the right way for it to still be out front in the mix.

So who’s going to win this titanic struggle between lions and nuts? Here’s five reasons we believe the Buckeyes will walk out of the ‘Shoe victorious Saturday evening when all the shouting and athletic feats of endeavors end.

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Next … Downright offensive

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Ohio State vs. Rutgers: Five snarky reasons the Buckeyes win

Ohio State is almost assured a victory Saturday on the road against Rutgers. Here’s five tongue-in-the-cheek reasons the Buckeyes win.

It’s off to the next tuneup for Ohio State. Thanks goes out to Jim Delany for bringing in the television markets of New York and the D.C. area while also getting two more bye-weeks for the Big Ten East division contenders.

After treating Maryland like a whipped omelet, the Buckeyes now head east to take on a Rutgers team that’s still trying to figure out how to play the game of football since helping invent it.

We normally do five reasons Ohio State beats its next opponent, but this time we’re taking a little different tact because there’s little rationale for believing the Scarlet Knights can put up more resistance than a light breeze on Saturday.

So, here’s five snarky reasons the Buckeyes beat back the Scarlet Knights this weekend. And before we get any vitriol pointed in our direction by one of the few dozen Rutgers’ fans, remember it’s all in good fun.

Next … Influenza?

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