Michigan Wolverines football lost to Penn State last week, 27-17, and is set to host Maryland Saturday for the last scheduled game of the year at The Big House.
Here are five burning questions we have about the Maize and Blue this week:
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Will this game be played?
Michigan decided to conduct all team activities virtually Monday "out of an abundance of caution", and it's unclear if and when the team will return to the building and practice field this week after an "increased number" of positive COVID-19 tests over the weekend and early Monday.
The Wolverines have done a great job so far this season avoiding an outbreak and stoppage, but the virus has been unrelenting throughout the Big Ten. Not wanting to give any sort of competitive advantage should the game occur, Harbaugh didn't give a clear answer on whether or not the number of presumed positive tests would force the Maize and Blue to shut down for a period of time.
Below is the Big Ten's threshold for number of positive tests and how programs must proceed:
With the lack of information at our disposal, it's impossible to say what the chances are the Wolverines suit up this weekend versus Maryland in what is the final scheduled home game of the year.
Will 'The Game' be played?
Michigan is scheduled to play arch rival Ohio State in Columbus next weekend (Dec. 12) in 'The Game.' The Wolverines and the Buckeyes have done battle each and every year since 1918. The problem is, Ohio State is currently shut down due to positive COVID tests, on top of the latest news out of Schembechler Hall this week.
Assuming the Buckeyes find a way to play this week and beat Michigan State in a game they are favored to win by 22.5 points, they'd already have the Big Ten East Division locked up.
That's where this gets interesting.
Since Ohio State has already missed two games, one more cancellation would make it ineligible for an appearance in the Big Ten Championship game (and likely would end its chances for inclusion in the College Football Playoff), unless the average number of regular-season games played by all conference teams falls below six.
If Michigan is the reason why college football's greatest rivalry doesn't get played this season, the folks in the great state of Ohio will never let it go, and it will become a controversy for decades to come, much like the controversial Big Ten athletic directors' vote in 1973 that sent the Buckeyes to the Rose Bowl after tying Michigan.
