Ryan Day wanted to play. One way or another, he'd have preferred Ohio State taking the field against someone over the alternative of an unplanned off week in light of Saturday's road game with Maryland getting canceled due to eight players testing positive for coronavirus.
"I certainly would be in favor of trying to get it done," Day said on Thursday morning's Dan Patrick Show.
"I know it's not as easy as saying hey let's go schedule a game, there's a lot of implications and different things that go into play, but I would be in favor of trying to get it done. I also understand the complexity." @RyanDayTime on scheduling games outside the B1G pic.twitter.com/B8yNyqeUpB
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) November 12, 2020
He won't get his wish, though, which he already knows.
Due to the Big Ten rule that prevents teams from lining up matchups with non-conference opponents when an upcoming contest falls through this year, Ohio State will not play anybody this weekend. Not the Terrapins, because of COVID-19, and not anybody else, because of the conference's rules agreed upon – per ESPN – at some point during the summer.
Nebraska, effectively the test case in this scenario, tried to set up a game with Chattanooga – an FCS team – when its Week 2 game with Wisconsin got scrapped. The Big Ten stood behind its rule and did not allow the game to happen. Thus, Ohio State will not make an attempt to schedule somebody else other than Maryland on short notice.
The Buckeyes will be back in action in nine days when they play host to Indiana at noon in Ohio Stadium.
