If another Big Ten game had been canceled this week, Ohio State University would have been able to play this weekend.
According to ESPN’s Heather Dinich, President of Big Ten earlier this month, if both games were canceled by opponents due to a COVID-19 issue earlier this week, the conference team would schedule new games for each other. Approved the process to enable it. These two teams have not addressed the COVID-19 outbreak, indicating that new games can be scheduled by Wednesday of the week.
According to Dinich, teams can schedule new games for each other, even if they have already played early in the season or are scheduled to play later in the season.
You could have seen many of the scheduling shuffles you saw today @ pac12.. November 5 @bften The president and the prime minister approved a process that would allow two COVID-free teams whose games were canceled the same week to play against each other. (More)
— Heather Dinich (@CFBHeather) November 14, 2020
At Big Ten, Saturday match decisions must be made by noon CT on Wednesday of the week. It doesn’t matter if both teams have already played or plan to play later.It’s different @SEC There are similar plans, but rematches are not allowed. (More)
— Heather Dinich (@CFBHeather) November 14, 2020
Dinich’s report was released after Pac-12 released Friday, after California and UCLA canceled both games originally scheduled for Saturday due to the COVID-19 outbreak in Arizona and Utah. We announced that we will play at noon on Sunday.
Update: The following statement about the new schedule # Pac12FB This Sunday, November 15th Game between Cal and UCLA:
@CalFootball so @UCLAFootball
November 15th (Sun)
9am PT | 12:00 pm EST
FS1 | @CFBONFOX pic.twitter.com/RgQFBaIP9X— Pac-12 Conference (@ pac12) November 13, 2020
Big Ten does not allow teams to replace canceled games with non-conference games. This prevented Ohio State University from scheduling a new match this weekend after the scheduled match with Maryland was over. Canceled on Wednesday Eight positive COVID-19 tests in the Maryland football program. Ryan Day said Thursday that if Big Ten had allowed Buckeyes to do so, he would have agreed to play against a new opponent this weekend.
“It’s hard to tell them they can’t play when you see your team with your eyes and do everything you ask them to do,” Day said. Said at the Dampatrick Show.. “I know it’s not as easy as saying’schedule the game’. I fully respect it because there are so many implications and things that have to be involved. You certainly agree with trying to find a way to get it done, but I understand all the complexity. ”
Sure, Big Ten wants no need to schedule a new game as multiple teams can’t play in the same week.But a week later 15 college football games Canceled or postponed due to the proliferation of COVID-19 across the country, its flexibility benefits the team only if Big Ten has another conference team in need of a new game in the same week. Games as much as possible in the next four weeks of the already significantly shortened season.