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Turns out the Big Ten might be playing some football sooner rather than later.
Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported yesterday that it’s possible the Big Ten could start playing as soon as Thanksgiving Weekend. And oh my, has that escalated quickly. National college football writers are now saying that the league coaches are on a call as we write this discussing bring games back.
One point being made: If @bigten is going to start Thanksgiving week, is it going to give up a shot at the CFP over six weeks? Why not start early October?
— Dennis Dodd (@dennisdoddcbs) August 28, 2020
SOURCE: Big Ten coaches are meeting on a call right now. Am told "it's a real possibility" that the Big Ten may try to reverse course and play later this fall. https://t.co/lbZJePwUbG
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) August 28, 2020
A quick update: 17 days after deciding to play next year which came 6 days after releasing its fall schedule, the @bigten is considering starting Thanksgiving week.
— Dennis Dodd (@dennisdoddcbs) August 28, 2020
This is what we call a “whirlwind” of information happening.
Would the College Football Playoff alter their schedule to accommodate one of their Power Five leagues? Would the Pac-12 and other conferences such as the Mountain West and Mid-American also considering getting started before the projected suspension of play until after January 2021? How much is the new saliva-based testing being offered and now approved by the Food & Drug Administration, in combination with the work already done by the NBA and Yale, a factor in a possible return to play?
And here’s the big one: Do the schools expect to be able to offer that level of testing for the entire student body? Because it’s not going to look great if you’re paying to test football players and not everyone else.
Keep in mind this is the coaches on a call and not the university presidents or chancellors, and those will need to be the people actually making the decision.
We have a lot of questions! Hopefully we’ll see some answers this afternoon.