Ohio State-Alabama? Ohio State-Tennessee? Ohio State-Auburn? Ohio State-Georgia?
One look around the country with an eye on the mass game cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic explains why some Buckeyes fans would like their favorite team to respond to Saturday’s game against Maryland getting canned by lining up a short-notice contest with somebody else.
Prominent college football programs across the country are in a similar position without a game due to a coronavirus outbreak happening to the teams they were supposed to face. There’s no lack of enticing fantasy matchups against teams suddenly without opponents.
But, due to Big Ten rules, it’s not happening. Even if the Buckeyes wanted to consider that route this late in the week, they know they’d have no shot. Why? Nebraska already tried it.
When the Cornhuskers’ game against Wisconsin in the second week of the season was canceled, they quickly moved to find somebody else to fit into their abbreviated eight-game regular-season slate. On Oct. 29, a Thursday, Nebraska had lined up a proposed agreement with Chattanooga – an FCS team – for a game on the upcoming Saturday.
Chattanooga senior associate athletics director for strategic communications Jay Blackman told ESPN the schools viewed it as a “long shot” to happen. However, per the Chattanooga Times Free Press, the two athletic departments agreed to a contract where Nebraska would pay the Mocs between $200,000 and $250,000 for all travel and COVID-19 testing. Chattanooga’s entire team – players and staff – tested negative for coronavirus the day before the potential matchup came to light. All the two teams needed was the Big Ten’s approval.
That, however, never came.
In the conference’s regularly scheduled Council of Presidents/Chancellors meeting that day, those involved determined “no non-conference opponents can be added when Big Ten games are canceled” this year, ESPN reported. That was a position taken in the summer which hasn’t changed. One of the reasons why replacement games were barred, per USA TODAY, was the Big Ten didn’t want its teams playing against opponents not taking part in the conference’s testing rules.
Nebraska athletic director Bill Moos and chancellor Ronnie Green subsequently released a joint statement wherein they noted they did “explore the possibility of securing a non-conference game for Saturday” and had a “non-negotiable” rule to only consider programs “that had already implemented stricter testing protocols than those mandated by the Big Ten Conference.”
“We believe the flexibility to play non-conference games could have been beneficial not only for Nebraska, but other Big Ten teams who may be in a similar position as the season progresses,” Moos and Green said in their statement. “The ability for all Big Ten members to play a non-conference game if needed could provide another data point for possible College Football Playoff and bowl consideration. Ultimately, the Big Ten Conference did not approve our request, and we respect their decision. We are excited to move forward with preparations for the rest of the season, beginning with next week's game at Northwestern.”
Ohio State finds itself in a position familiar to Nebraska. Due to COVID-19 reasons out its control, its upcoming game has been canceled.
But unlike the Cornhuskers, the Buckeyes won’t try to find a replacement for Maryland. Instead, as part of a now-seven-game regular season, they’ll have an off week before returning to action at home against Indiana in 10 days.
