Will the Michigan Wolverines and the rest of the Big Ten still wind up playing a football season this fall? That has been the million dollar question lately, and now that we're already in the heart of September, a final decision should be coming any time.
The answer to the aforementioned question has consistently been 'no' over the last several months by those tracking the situation closely, but the tide may finally be turning.
Will it turn enough, however, for the conference to kick off its season before Halloween? Clayton Sayfie and Austin Fox provide their takes below:
Clayton Sayfie — Buy
There’s been optimism for weeks that the Big Ten could reverse course, especially after league commissioner Kevin Warren met with President Donald Trump to discuss the conference receiving large amounts of rapid COVID-19 tests, the first of many steps Warren and the Big Ten Return to Competition Task Force has taken in an effort to, well, return to competition.
The pressure has certainly mounted on Warren and university presidents over the last five weeks since the postponement, but on top of that, there’s been medical advancements with rapid testing and research on myocarditis. In addition, football has returned at the high school level in most states across the country, including Michigan, as well as in the NFL and at most FBS schools nationwide.
The Wolverine’s Chris Balas has reported that the conference is eyeing a late October start with a re-vote of presidents and chancellors this week to make it official. There’s been reports elsewhere of a possible re-vote in weeks past, but the league has not been more close to one than they are now, after the Big Ten medical subcommittee presented new testing programs on Saturday to a subcommittee of conference presidents and chancellors, detailing protocol options. The presentation was met positively by the subcommittee of presidents and chancellors.
What we’re waiting on now is likely for the conference to present a unified front once they make the decision, instead of the chaos that ensued after the postponement. And it doesn't look like it'll be long before the conference makes its announcement, with University of Nebraska President Ted Carter saying today, on a hot mic, that they're ready to announce tonight.
As far as being back to the field before Halloween, it makes the most sense, with the league then being able to be eligible for the College Football Playoff, which will release its final ranking on Sunday, Dec. 20. There’s been multiple reports that Oct. 17 is the targeted date as it stands now, but that could change, and that’s one of the details they’re likely working on now.
It’s not a done deal, but good news is expected.
Austin Fox — Buy
It had been easy to be pessimistic throughout this whole thing, beginning with the weeks leading up to the initial cancellation and then through the backlash the conference received in the days and weeks immediately following the announcement.
The tide has seemingly turned, however, and for the first time in a long time, it's fair to have optimism surrounding this whole situation. Rumors of a revote have run rampant in recent days, and as the old saying goes, 'where there's smoke there's fire.'
There has been a lot of 'smoke' lately that the Big Ten presidents and chancellors will revote and decide to play this fall, and when as many credible sources reported that news the way they did, there's probably something to it.
Dan Patrick threw a bit of a curveball yesterday, however, when he said Michigan will likely be one of the schools that chooses not to play if the Big Ten goes ahead with its season, but we strongly believe that information is false, and that U-M President Mark Schlissel will indeed vote 'yes' this time around.
Oct. 17 is the targeted return date, and either that day or Oct. 24 is more than feasible. In fact, I'd be surprised if the Big Ten isn't playing football by the time one of those two dates rolls around.
There are still those close to the situation (parents of players on the team, for example) who remain pessimistic, and it's easy to see why.
"I won't believe it until I see it," one involved parent recently said, and again, it's easy to see why when considering how many false hopes there have been throughout this whole thing.
If we're playing percentages, I'd say there's a 75 percent chance the conference kicks off prior to Halloween.
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