Illinois-Ohio State game canceled because of COVID-19 cases, putting Buckeyes’ Big Ten title chances in jeopardy.
Buckeyes have high number of COVID-19 cases, putting title hopes in jeopardy
Ohio State canceled its game Saturday at Illinois because of a high number of COVID-19 cases in the Buckeyes program, the schools announced Friday night.
The No. 4 Buckeyes reportedly had multiple positive tests this week, and Ohio State announced “further” cases were discovered after additional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests were administered Friday afternoon. Coach Ryan Day tested positive for COVID-19 and was isolating, the school announced earlier Friday.
The team was preparing to fly to Champaign on Saturday morning before the scheduled 11 a.m. kickoff until it confirmed the additional cases.
“Couldwe have played? Sure,” Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said Saturday in anewsconference.“Was it the right thing to play? No.”
The Buckeyes have paused all teamrelated activities, and Smith said there was noway to predictwhenthey could return to practice for their next scheduled game Saturday at Michigan State.
The lost game has far more implications for Ohio State’s season, which includes Big Ten championship and national title hopes.
This will be the second game the Buckeyes (4-0) have not played, andBigTen rules instituted for this eight-game season prohibit a team with three cancellations from playing in the conference championship game.
If the average number of games played falls below5.5 per team, a teammust playno less than two fewer games than the Big Ten average to qualify for the championship.
As is the case with all canceled Big Ten games this season, the Ohio State-Illinois will not be made up because the condensed schedule does not allowtime for rescheduling. The game does not count as a loss for either team and is considered a no-contest by the Big Ten.
This is the first game canceled for Illinois (2-3). The Illini played three games without starting quarterback Brandon Peters, who tested positive for COVID-19 in late October. Several other players missed games while quarantining because of contact tracing.
“We are certainly disappointed that tomorrow’s game against Ohio State was canceled,” Illinois coach Lovie Smith said Friday in a statement. “In these uncertain times, and having seen similar situations around the nation, we have always been aware that this could occur to us aswell.
“All of us in collegiate athletics place the health and safety of our student-athletes at the highest level. We hope the Ohio State players and staff who have contracted the COVID virus recover quickly so they can continue their season.”
Ohio State’s game atMaryland onNov. 14 was canceled because of COVID-19 cases within the Terrapins program.
“We have continued to experience an increase in positive tests over the course of this week,” Gene Smith said Friday in a statement. “The health, safety and wellbeing of our student-athlete is our main concern, and our decisions on theirwelfare will continue to be guided by our medical staff.”
The decision was made by Smith, Ohio State President Kristina Johnson and team physician Dr. Jim Borchers in consultation with the Big Ten.
The Minnesota-Wisconsin game scheduled for Saturday alsowas canceled because of COVID-19 cases within the Gophers program. It’s the Badgers’ third canceled game this season after they scratched games against Nebraska on Oct. 31 and Purdue on Nov. 7 because of a COVID-19 outbreak withinWisconsin’s program.
Across major college football, 17 of 58 games scheduled for this weekend were postponed or canceled. It’s the third week in a row that double-digit games have been canceled or postponed.