Tag: big ten football news

The Big Ten shifts – decides to play football this fall, kickoff scheduled for Oct. 24

What will Big Ten football look like this fall and how will it compare to the SEC and ACC? Details and analysis here.

The Big Ten made news in early August when league officials decided to cancel all fall sports – including of course, schools’ biggest money-maker, football.

Now, in an official statement Wednesday, the conference announced that they are restarting the fall football season and will return to kickoff set for the weekend of Aug. 23rd.

They have scheduled an 8-game, conference-only season in eight weeks, two games fewer than the SEC’s 2020 slate, with no bye-weeks.

Per the Big Ten:

“The Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors (COP/C) adopted significant medical protocols including daily antigen testing, enhanced cardiac screening and an enhanced data-driven approach when making decisions about practice/competition. The COP/C voted unanimously to resume the football season starting the weekend of October 23-24, 2020.”

It seems that the league office gave-in to the immense pressures to reconsider their decision to cancel football from coaches, players and their families.

There are currently over 300,000 signatures on the We Want To Play movement’s petition to the Big Ten’s original decision, popularized mostly by former Georgia quarterback, now Ohio State Buckeye Heisman hopeful Justin Fields

The real question is now, what will Big Ten football look like compared to that of the SEC? They start a month later and, as mentioned earlier,  have an eight-game lineup in eight weeks with no byes.

Plus, the Big Ten’s policy for an athlete testing positive for Covid-19 is a minimum quarantine of 21 days. So, one outbreak and your season is thrown way off the rails.

Per the Big Ten:

“The earliest a student-athlete can return to game competition is 21 days following a COVID-19 positive diagnosis.”

Add the lay off after the season cancellation and Big Ten teams start at a disadvantage. However, Ohio State should have a straight shot to the playoff because of opt-outs from athletes of programs like Maryland and Michigan State.

Truly an unprecedented time for everyone right now. Check back for more updates as more news regarding the Big Ten’s decision rolls in.

 

 

 

 

An off the field category where Wisconsin consistently beats Ohio State

The Badgers are getting it done in the classroom

[lawrence-newsletter][lawrence-related id=18289,18276,18265]Sure, when Wisconsin football faces Ohio State in the biggest games over the past decade they have come up short against the Buckeye’s and their talent. One area where the Badger football team consistently beats Ohio State, however, is in the classroom according to the NCAA academic progress rate.

The academic progress rate is a variable that the NCAA uses to track four-year performance in the classroom for different teams. Here is what the NCAA describes the progress rate to be according to their website.

“Implemented in 2003 as part of an ambitious academic reform effort in Division I, the Academic Progress Rate (APR) holds institutions accountable for the academic progress of their student-athletes through a team-based metric that accounts for the eligibility and retention of each student-athlete for each academic term.”

This year, the four-year totals placed the Badgers in second place in the Big Ten Conference behind only Northwestern (not much of a surprise there). Wisconsin also had a perfect 1000 score this season.  Here are the full academic progress rankings for  Big Ten football teams:

1 Northwestern 995

2 Wisconsin 986

3 Ohio State 985

4 Penn State 982

T5 Michigan 980

T5 Minnesota 980

7 Rutgers 979

8 Nebraska 974

9 Iowa 971

10 Illinois 970

11 Indiana 969

12 Maryland 956

13 Purdue 954

14 Michigan State 952