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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
HOPE AND A PRAYER. "Jim Harbaugh's best chance at not getting embarrassed against Ohio State is if the game is canceled" sounds like offseason banter. But it's now extremely true and could potentially even save his job.
But in the interest of considering possible scenarios, imagine if the Michigan-Ohio State game can’t be played because of COVID-19.
Having a game canceled because of the virus is not out of the realm of possibility.
In fact, Michigan paused football activities on Monday.
Can you imagine if this lasts? And the Michigan-Ohio State game can’t be played?
As crazy as it sounds, that seems more likely than Michigan beating Ohio State on the field.
Not losing to Ohio State, even because of COVID-19, might make it easier for the administration to announce an extension.
That’s the state of the program now, where canceling the biggest game of the year might be the best-case scenario. I don't think there are many Michigan fans who would be upset if this season were over.
So hear me out – what if we play the long game here? I'm as stoked as anyone else to watch this offense gut Michigan like a fish for a third-straight time, but if a cancelation truly does get Harbaugh an extension...
Either way, we win!
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That, and......... Imagine the sales pitch you can give. You want to play for a team that would rather pack up and quit?
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
“I still think Michigan waves the white flag, potentially avoids playing Ohio State next week, and then they’ll potentially get a game on the 19th,” Herbstreit said. “Is that fair, David [Pollack]? Michigan could opt out, basically, of that game, and keep Ohio State out of six games to qualify for the Big Ten championship. That doesn’t make sense to me.”
Michigan paused all in-person team activities on hold on Monday after a potential increase in positive COVID-19 tests. The team held all team activities virtually on Monday and Tuesday out of what Michigan called "an abundance of caution."
Herbstreit seemed to double down on his stance later in the segment, saying he's heard that coaches around the country feel opponents are opting out of games because they "don't want to get humiliated."
"I don't know all the numbers as far as COVID is concerned, but we live in such a strange world that they really feel teams are opting out to avoid playing games," Herbstreit said. "They don't want to get humiliated or lose with the team they have. They don't want to get embarrassed. There's a lot of that being talked about around the country."
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Both Ohio State and Michigan want to play The Game.
There’s really no question about that, and it would fly in the face of Jim Harbaugh’s reputation as a fierce competitor if any kind of attempt to duck the Buckeyes was made with that program — particularly if he’s on the way out the door as expected. The Wolverines would have way more to gain by actually taking a shot at what is unlikely to be a full-strength rival, trying to regain some bragging rights and actually knocking the Buckeyes out of title contention on the field instead of hurting them with a cancellation.
Yes, it’s true that only one of those teams might actually need to play on Dec. 12 with an eye on the championship race. But if playing The Game isn’t desperately important to both sides, that would be a damaging blow to its reputation as the best rivalry in all of sports.
Of course, the first order of business for Ohio State is simply getting through this week. The cliché is more true than ever for the Buckeyes: They have to go one day, one game at a time as they work to get back on the field after the cancellation at Illinois put them up against the minimum threshold to play in the Big Ten title game. Everything remains on track to play on Saturday at Michigan State, and Ohio State really can’t afford to spend a second thinking about what might happen with Michigan after that given the challenges it’s facing with both players and coaches missing due to positive tests.
From a big-picture perspective, though, Michigan isn’t necessarily an all-or-nothing dealbreaker for the Buckeyes when it comes to the title chase. They absolutely, unequivocally would prefer to play The Game. But there could be fail-safe options that would prevent the Wolverines from inflicting damage with a cancellation.
For starters, the Big Ten could simply look at the mistake it made with the tiebreaker procedure and drop the minimum-games requirement. The league knew all along that the schedules were likely to be unbalanced, which is why it put in the caveat that teams could play two games under the average if that number across the Big Ten dropped to six. Why it didn’t just use that standard regardless of the eventual average wasn’t fully explained, but it’s clearly a problem right now considering unbeaten Ohio State has the head-to-head edge over Indiana. Beyond the credibility issue with its conference title, it’s also a major headache for its broadcast partner if it doesn’t get the best matchup for the Big Noon plans on Dec. 19 — and FOX is likely putting pressure on the conference to get that fixed as well.
Secondly, Ohio State could find a replacement from elsewhere in the league if it becomes clear Michigan isn’t going to be able to play. That’s not ideal, and it would require at least one other team in the Big Ten to be available due to a cancellation elsewhere. But that’s well within the realm of possibility, particularly with Minnesota still dealing with a massive outbreak. A potential rematch with Nebraska probably wouldn’t be the most appealing outcome, but if that’s what it takes to fill the six-game minimum, certainly Ohio State would have no choice but to pursue it.
Those are the Big Ten factors, and the Buckeyes have backup plans available to defend that crown even if they don’t get a shot at another set of Gold Pants. And when it comes to the College Football Playoff, missing out on The Game at this point doesn’t appear like it would be a major issue for the Buckeyes. The selection committee has doubled down on the eye test by keeping them No. 4 despite playing only four times this season. So, even if Michigan was hoping to stick it to the Buckeyes with a cancellation — which there are no signs at all that it would — it’s possible the only damage it would do is to the rivalry.
The championship stakes clearly aren’t the same for both sides in The Game. But both Ohio State and Michigan will still do everything possible to play it.
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TTUN AD Wade Manuel announced that this Saturday’s TTUN-Maryland game is cancelled, with TTUN pausing football activities until Monday 12/7.
If they cancel next week, and tOSU is ineligible for Indianapolis, can we play The Game on 12/19?
If they cancel next week, and tOSU is ineligible for Indianapolis, can we play The Game on 12/19?
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Will we have the ability to play another Big team if there is another pairing cancelation ??
Would you rather play another team to get in our 6 game minimum and then play Northwestern or say fuck it let play The Game on the 19th ??
Would you rather play another team to get in our 6 game minimum and then play Northwestern or say fuck it let play The Game on the 19th ??
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Interesting question, if we play this week and TTUN cancels for 12/12.
Here are the games on 12/12:
Saturday, Dec. 12
Michigan at Ohio State | 12 p.m. | FOX, MAYBE
Wisconsin at Iowa
Michigan State at Penn State
Minnesota at Nebraska
Illinois at Northwestern
Purdue at Indiana
Rutgers at Maryland
If Wiscy, Iowa, Nebraska, NW’ern, Indiana, or Rutgers cancels, we could play one of these on 12/12:
Iowa
Wiscy
Minny
Illinois
Purdue
Maryland
That could get us to 6 games after Sparty this week.
Interesting choice, I think Gene Smith would try to play for the B1G Championship, which might be an unpopular move. But if TTUN isn’t able to play on 12/12, there’s no guarantee they’d be available 12/19. So it’s probably the smart move.
They could try to squeeze The Game in on 12/26, but that only leaves 5 open days before the CFB semi-final bowls on Jan 1st, so I don’t think they’d try to do that.
If Illinois and TTUN both cancel on 12/12, I don’t think the B1G would let us play the CCG on 12/12 with NW’ern, and then play TTUN on 12/19, but that’s a remote possibility.
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