Michigan Wolverines football head coach Jim Harbaugh, Athletic Director Warde Manuel and two team physicians held a Zoom press conference this afternoon to discuss the cancellation of this weekend's game at Ohio State.

The presser was a somber one, with 2020 marking the first time the two bitter rivals will not meet in a season since 1917.

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“This is not a day I envisioned we would have," Manuel said to kick things off. "It was not an easy outcome to take. The Michigan/Ohio State game is the greatest rivalry in this sport, so this is a really hard day and hard time for me, Jim, our team, staff, university and fans of both teams — I am certain of that.

"We have a trend with the number of tests continuing to go up. In the last seven days, they have not slowed. We were not cleared to participate in practice and were looking toward the end of the week, and that much wouldn’t have changed; we still don’t have a total grasp of this virus on our team.

"We made the decision this afternoon we wouldn’t be able to participate — we weren’t even cleared to practice today. To afford Ohio State and the Big Ten the ability to adjust where necessary, we felt it was best to talk to [Big Ten Commissioner] Kevin Warren and [OSU Athletic Director] Gene Smith and let them know our decision today.”

After Michigan's positive tests had been low all throughout the season, the number skyrocketed prior to what would have been last week's Maryland game, and the showdown with the Terrapins was canceled as a result.

The number of cases has continued to grow at U-M, which caused many to accurately believe the cancellation of the Ohio State showdown was inevitable.

“We don’t have a good enough handle on where this is going to stop," Manuel explained. "We paused last week because of the increase in numbers. Those numbers kept increasing through this week and the weekend.

"For me and our medical staff, we looked at the numbers and percentage of players who were impacted, and it became apparent to us all no matter how much we wanted to play.

"We started this all in March with the goal of the health and safety of our team and coaches as our first priority. As numbers grow, we can’t ignore them and put first how much we want to play this great game against Ohio State.

"Until we have control of that, there’s no reason we should move forward without a good handle of the cases on our team right now.”

Manuel made it clear, however, that Michigan's student-athletes aren't to be criticized or blamed for the skyrocketing numbers. Instead, he noted it's "as much a reflection of where we are in our state and our area," stressing everyone at Michigan is still being diligent and working hard.

The Athletic Director said he doesn't want it to be "reflective" of the school's student-athletes. The exact scenario currently playing out is what schedule-makers and higher-ups feared before the year began, especially when the Big Ten created its slates with no bye weeks for its teams.

The second schedule released for U-M in August (it was eventually scrapped) had Michigan and Ohio State squaring off in late-October, likely in an effort to ensure the game got played in case cases rose as the campaign went on and matchups had to be canceled.

“There were multiple iterations of schedules we discussed from way back in the summer," Manuel recalled, when asked if The Game should have occurred earlier in the season.

"As we discussed scheduling and starting in September to where we are now, the answer is yes. We talked about playing this game earlier, and those talks got debated and worked out and we ended up being with the game where it’s located now.

"I don’t remember exactly when that changed, but it changed when we came back and re-started the season.”

A fair question was then brought up when a reporter asked if next year's Ohio State/Michigan game will be played in Ann Arbor or in Columbus. This year's was supposed to be in the latter but obviously won't be occurring, while the 2021 schedule is slated to have the two teams matching up at The Big House.

“Our schedule was already turned around with having to make the adjustments we made," Manuel said. "We haven’t had that discussion [in regards to next year]. I don’t know what next year’s schedule will look like, and whether or not some teams will be returning to places back to back.

"It hasn’t been discussed yet.”

Notes

• Current Big Ten rules state Ohio State won't have enough games under its belt to qualify for the Big Ten championship game on Dec. 19, a week in which all conference clubs are slated to play an additional contest.

Many expect the league to change its rules to squeeze OSU into the title game, however.

“We will make any adjustments from my standpoint we need to make," Manuel began, addressing an inquiry as to whether or not U-M could potentially play Ohio State on Dec. 19 if the Buckeyes aren't in the title matchup.

"If we play Ohio State the week of the 19th, that would be great. We’ll play whoever is going to be scheduled for us. I think Ohio State is one of the top four teams in this country and would be a great representative for the College Football Playoff if they are chosen."

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