After increasingly positive COVID-19 trials with the Ohio State Football Program, the Buckies have now found themselves with their second canceled game and numerous unknowns as a result.
As it is still in balance, let’s look at some of the lingering questions about the rest of Ohio State this season.
When can Ohio State return?
This answer would not be fully known unless the State of Ohio disclosed whether the gates set by the Big Ten should be canceled. A team spokesman declined to comment Friday evening on whether that was the case.
If the Buckies meet the Big Ten designated entrances, it must be stopped – 5 percent of players and 7.5 percent of all Tier I employees (players, coaches, staff, etc.) – then they cannot return to the field for at least seven days. If so, Ohio State will be sidelined until next Friday. In a better situation, could the Bucks return to a training facility before heading to Michigan State for a game? Possible, but not impossible. In this case, they will miss two games in a row.
If the limits are not reached, the next step for the state of Ohio is unknown. Not every Big Ten team that canceled games due to COVID-19 hit the threshold. But even some who did not hit the gates – including Maryland and Wisconsin – led to the cancellation of two games. At this point, with a group-sized eruption canceled less than 24 hours before kickoff, it often looks like the result.
What if Ohio State does not qualify for the Big Ten Championship?
Ohio State fans are naturally worried about the team’s potential for a Big Ten Championship this year, but one major change in the planning for this year’s conference is that each Big Ten team will play Championship weekend.
So, if Ohio State does not qualify for the Big Ten Championship game, the Buckeyes will be scheduled for a game that weekend, perhaps against Wisconsin. While it may not be quite the same to match the unbeaten Northwest team with the Big Ten title, it is all or nothing; Victory over the Badgers will help the Buckeyes start the playoffs again.
Of course, it considers the Big Ten sticks with six game requirements.
Does the Big Ten Championship game at least reconsider?
We all live in a world where the Big Ten season is postponed to spring and the decision is doubled within a week to change course after a month. Therefore, anything is possible. At the beginning of this fall, the conference set a precedent for being able to change the decision it had already made.
Now, will Big Ten make a difference here? It’s hard to know.
Ohio State may try to throw around its power, which creates the case for the removal of the minimum of the game, which is arbitrary. The conference knew it would be a different look if the losing Buckies team gave division to an Indiana team that won in the fourth week of the regular season.
Given how Big Ten handled the postponement (cancellation?) Of the fall football season a few months ago, it’s hard to know how Ohio State – and / or other teams – would react if they wanted to change this.
Can the average fall for the 6 games played?
Realistically, no.
By simple arithmetic, the average number of games played would fall below six, which would cancel season 14. We currently have six canceled in the season, including two games canceled this weekend, with two more weeks to go. That means you have to look at eight cancellations over the next two weeks, which is more than half the number of games left.
If Big Ten wants to cancel more than half of its games in the next two weeks, whoever qualifies is not going to watch a Big Ten championship game.
When the season returns, how many players will Ohio State be without?
Another way to ask this question is “How many players tested positive, anyway?” Since the state of Ohio has never released its pre-participation report, we do not know the answer.
What we do know is that anyone who has tested positive will now be sidelined for 21 days and will reject Michigan State and Michigan Games if Ohio State can play in both of those matches.
Other schools also have the possibility of interim deviation as we have already seen.
Is this list intact?
The state of Ohio has a rich list of future NFL talents, and if the COVID-19 situation continues in the wrong direction for days and weeks it could act against the Buckeyes.
A few of these players returned to Ohio State to chase a national championship and upgrade their NFL draft shares. If the Buckies College football playoff opportunities seem to be out of the window and / or they feel they have already shown enough to raise their draft status, players can leave the team and start their NFL draft preparation early.
We’ve already seen this happen with Minnesota’s Rashot Batman, who announced last week that he was leaving the team midfield to focus on his NFL draft preparation. If players in the state of Ohio think they can no longer accomplish their goals there is at least one chance to see it.
Will the college football playoffs backfire?
We know the college football playoffs have at least pleased with the idea of pushing the playoffs back, but so far have been urging officials to maintain its current deadline, saying it will not push the playoffs back to create a regular season.
The cancellation at the end of the season could be a headache for the team on selection day, so let’s see if the CFP reconsiders its position.
Can Ohio State still make the playoffs with a few games like this?
Our Dan Hope went even deeper into how the COVID-19 situation in the state of Ohio affects the playoff chances of the Buckeyes, but the short answer is yes.
Even if Ohio State does not play another game all season, the team said the teams do not need a minimum number of games to qualify for the playoffs, so the Buckeys are technically likely to make the playoffs.
“The task of the selection committee is to select the first four teams to advance to the final rankings from November 24 to December 20,” the panel said. The question and answer was published on its website Last weekend. “The number of games and victories of each team is certainly important in weighing its rankings, but it is not the only factor.”
Of course, more games will certainly help boost the buckys’ playoff resume, but if the team thinks Ohio State is one of the top four teams in the country, the buckies can technically build the field no matter how many games they play.
