The college football world shook at its foundation on Tuesday when the Big Ten announced its members wouldn't be taking the field this fall.
That means Ohio State, which was on the doorstep of the national title game eight months ago, won't have the opportunity to make another run at a national championship this fall.
It's a tough pill to swallow, particularly as the ACC, Big 12 and SEC continue toward playing their seasons this fall. Whether they can continue to move forward, and avoid the cancellations the Big Ten and Pac-12 made, remains to be seen.
That fractured approach casts uncertainty on what college football will look like in 2020, but at the moment, the ACC, Big 12 and SEC are scheduled to kick off their seasons next month while the Big Ten and Pac-12 watch it unfold from their couches.
The Big Ten's season isn't entirely lost, at least at the moment. The league cancelled fall football with the hopes that it could postpone the action until the spring.
While it's not ideal, here are a few reasons why a non-fall football season would be good for Ohio State and the Big Ten.
Fall Freedom
Fall is arguably the best season. It's not as hot as the summer or as rainy as the spring. There are very few allergy complications and it's scenic as heck.
Without Ohio State taking up so much of your time between September and November, you'll have plenty of opportunities to take advantage!
Think about all the leaves you can rake now that there won't be Buckeye game days taking up your time. You can go to a pumpkin patch on an overcast Saturday afternoon or attend a fall wedding you had every intention of aggressively skipping. Freedom.
The Suspense
2020 has been filled with uncertainty, and most of us have been dying for a level on normalcy in our lives.
Sports certainly provide a level of normalcy, but the Big Ten's recent move just put us on our heels. We can't just lean on one of our favorite things in life to try and pull some satisfaction into one of the most miserable years of our generation. We have to wait for it!
They say good things come to those who wait, and that will certainly be the case here.
No Keeping Up with the Joneses
How exhausting is it to compare conference strength on a year-to-year basis?
The Big Ten, and by extension Ohio State, is in a constant battle for relevance with the SEC for college football supremacy. Both leagues compete to put its champion in the College Football Playoff every season, and the SEC has been able to do that every year while the Big Ten has fallen short in 2017 and 2018.
That won't be a problem in 2020! If the season continues on as scheduled, Big Ten members won't even be able to qualify for the College Football Playoff, taking literally all the stress out of the season! The Buckeyes can just play without that lingering cloud of expectation and desire hanging over their heads.
