Wisconsin cancels game

Nebraska trip off due to Badgers’ virus outbreak

No. 9 Wisconsin canceled its game at Nebraska on Saturday and paused all team activities for at least seven days after a dozen people within the program including coach Paul Chryst tested positive for COVID-19.

School officials said Wednesday that athletic director Barry Alvarez and Chancellor Rebecca Blank made the decision in consultation with BigTen officials. The game with Nebraska won’t be rescheduled.

“This morning I received the news that I had tested positive via a PCR test I took yesterday,” Chryst said. “I informed my staff and the team this morning and am currently isolating athome. I had not been experiencing any symptoms and feel good as of this morning.”

Wisconsin said six players and six staff members had tested positive over the last five days. Additional test results were pending.

Wisconsin becomes the first Big Ten school to postpone a game since the league started its pandemic-season last week. This is the 37th game involving FBS teams to be postponed or canceled since Aug. 6.

The announcement followed reports that quarterback Graham Mertz had tested positive twice — which would require him to sit out at least 21 days — and that backup quarterback Chase Wolf had tested positive at least once.

Last year’s starting quarterback, Jack Coan, is already out indefinitely following foot surgery. The Badgers’ only other scholarship quarterback is junior Danny Vanden Boom.

The Big Ten requires teams to play at least six games to be eligible for the league title game.

The state of Wisconsin has been hit hard by the virus lately. State health officials reported 5,262 newly confirmed cases on Tuesday, shattering the daily record of 4,591 set on Oct. 20. They also reported the virus was a factor in an additional 64 deaths, also a record.