Non-playing schools will not be included in USA Today coaches' poll
The coronavirus pandemic that has altered the upcoming college football season will also change the way the weekly coaches' poll published by USA Today is conducted.
The preseason coaches' poll released Aug .6 included votes from 65 coaches in the Bowl Subdivision.
With members of the Big Ten, Pac- 1 2, MidAmerican, Mountain West and other schools postponing football this fall, those teams will not be eligible for the coaches' poll once t he season begins — a decision echoing that of The Associated Press for its Top 25.
Accordingly, the coaches' voting panel will be reduced to 42, the newspaper reported Tuesday. USA Today has worked with the American Football Coaches Association to administer the coaches poll since the 1991 season.
“This is certainly a unique an du np re cedented time in collegiate athletics ,” said Todd Berry, president of the AFCA. “It made sense for those currently playing their games to be the voters in this year's poll.”
BIG TEN: The Big Ten is considering several domes as sites for a potential football season starting early in 2021, The Columbus Dispatch has learned.
Amanda Babb, the president of the Ohio State football parents group, said in an interview Wednesday that she had heard that indoor stadiums in Indianapolis, St. Louis, Detroit, Minneapolis and possibly even Syracuse, New York, were under consideration as venues. Games are not expected to be played on campus in the proposed schedule that could start in January. Later Wednesday, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith confirmed the plan, texting “Yes and others” when asked about those potential sites. He declined to add details. The Big Ten announced on Aug. 11 that it would not play fall sports because of the coronavirus pandemic. The conference said it would pursue the possibility of an early 2021 season, though it provided no details.
ACC: The opening ACC football weekend will have one fewer game than expected. The matchup between North Carolina State and No. 24 Virginia Tech scheduled for Sept. 12 has been pushed back two weeks, the conference announced Wednesday. The original date for the game was in doubt with North Carolina State pausing athletics activities after reporting new 22 positive COVID-19 tests among athletes Monday. The Wolfpack's road contest against the Hokies is now slated for Sept. 26, when both teams had a common open date. N.C. State is still currently scheduled to play Wake Forest at home on Sept. 19. The season opener for the Hokies will now be on the same day against Virginia at home.
LSU: LSU's defense of its college football national championship is off to a rocky start, with just one month before the Tigers open their season. Positive COVID-19 tests or a risk of exposure to infected individuals has sidelined nearly the entire offensive line position group in quarantine, according to a report in the Baton Rouge Advocate.