Wisconsin loses Purdue game for 2nd cancellation in row

Wisconsin has canceled Saturday’s home game against Purdue, the second straight game the 10th-ranked Badgers have called off as COVID-19 cases within their team continue to rise.

School officials announced Tuesday that three more players and two additional staffers have tested positive since Saturday, bringing the program’s total number of active cases to 27. That includes 15 players and 12 staffers.

All team-related activities for Wisconsin remain paused indefinitely.

“I’m concerned with the health and safety of the guys,” athletic director Barry Alvarez said. “No one wants to be on that field any more than I do. But I’m not going to lose track of priorities.“

This marks the second consecutive week that Wisconsin has canceled a game due to the virus outbreak. The Badgers had been scheduled to visit Nebraska on

Oct. 31. Neither game will be rescheduled.

Mississippi St. RB decides to opt out

Mississippi State running back Kylin Hill announced he has opted out of the rest of the season and will begin preparing for the NFL draft.

An All-SEC selection last season, Hill had appeared in three games this season.

Over the summer, Hill threatened to boycott the season if the state of Mississippi did not change its flag, which featured the symbol of the Confederacy. The state ultimately voted to take down the old flag and design a new one.

Odds and ends

Florida International said it will be unable to play Saturday’s game at UTEP due to a lack of healthy scholarship players. It’s the third time in four weeks that UTEP has lost a game to COVIDrelated issues, joining games against North Texas and Southern Miss. …

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence will travel with top-ranked Clemson for its game at No. 4 Notre Dame despite his being sidelined with the coronavirus. Lawrence will have completed his 10-day quarantine but is unable to play due to the cardiac testing protocol. Freshman D. J. Uiagalelei will replace Lawrence for the second consecutive week.