Big Ten Football

The Ohio State Buckeyes are resuming football activities on Tuesday ahead of their potential game on Saturday against Michigan State.  

Ohio State confirmed it will resume activities in an official statement:

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith announced on Friday that the team's game against Illinois the following day was canceled due to a rising number of positive COVID-19 tests in the program. 

"We have continued to experience an increase in positive tests over the course of this week," Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said in a statement, via CBS Sports' David Cobb. "The health, safety, and well-being of our student-athlete is our main concern, and our decisions on their welfare will continue to be guided by our medical staff."

Head coach Ryan Day was among those who tested positive, per a statement from the school (h/t Joey Kaufman of the Columbus Dispatch). 

Per ESPN's Adam Rittenberg, Day won't be available to coach the Buckeyes on Saturday if their game against Michigan State takes place. Big Ten policy requires coaches to self-isolate for at least 10 days with a positive test. 

Per Big Ten protocols for this season, teams must play at least six games to qualify for the conference championship game. There is no minimum-game requirement to make the College Football Playoff. 

Ohio State previously had its Nov. 14 game against Maryland canceled due to coronavirus issues within the Terrapins program. 

The Buckeyes have currently played four games with two remaining, including Saturday against Michigan State and on Dec. 12 against Michigan. They are currently ranked No. 4 in the College Football Playoff standings. 

The unranked Michigan State Spartans jumped out to a 17-0 lead and held on for a 29-20 win en route to stunning the undefeated No. 8 Northwestern Wildcats on Saturday at Spartan Stadium.

MSU quarterback Rocky Lombardi threw for 167 yards and two touchdowns, running back Connor Heyward added 105 total yards and wide receiver Jalen Nailor had 99 receiving yards and a touchdown for the Spartans. On defense, MSU forced four Wildcats turnovers and held Northwestern to 285 yards.

MSU made an early statement when Lombardi found Nailor for a 75-yard touchdown:

The Spartans added a field goal in the first quarter before Lombardi took to the air again for another touchdown, this time for 15 yards to Jayden Reed.

Undeterred, the Wildcats scored 20 straight points thanks to a pair of field goals, a Peyton Ramsey one-yard TD run and a go-ahead score from Cam Porter on a three-yard rush. Ramsey faked out the Spartan D for his score.

However, the Wildcats committed two costly turnovers in the fourth quarter: MSU's Jack Camper recovered a fumble, and Spartan cornerback Shakur Brown picked off a pass.

Granted a short field both times, MSU worked its way into field-goal territory, where Matt Coghlin nailed kicks from 44 and 48 yards to give the Spartans a 23-20 lead with 3:35 left.

The MSU defense immediately forced a three-and-out, causing Northwestern to punt with 2:57 left. MSU gained one first down and was able to run the clock down to about a half-minute despite Northwestern using all three of its timeouts.

Northwestern got the ball back with 25 seconds left on its own 19-yard line, but disaster struck when an attempted lateral got loose and was picked up by Kalon Gervin for a game-closing touchdown.

MSU improved to 2-3, and Northwestern fell to 5-1.

Ohio State's football game at Illinois has been canceled after an increased number of COVID-19 cases within the Buckeye program following additional testing on Friday afternoon, per a team statement (h/t Bryan Fischer of Athlon Sports).

The game, which was scheduled for noon ET on Saturday at Illinois, will be declared a no-contest.

OSU announced earlier Friday that head coach Ryan Day tested positive for COVID-19. That positive test was in addition to "an increased number of positive tests this week for the coronavirus" within the program.

The school also stated that "all team members along with Tier I coaches and support staff will undergo polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing this afternoon."

The results of that testing have forced OSU to cancel the game.

"Further positive tests for the coronavirus were discovered after a round of PCR testing this afternoon," OSU's most recent statement said. "The Department of Athletics has paused all team-related football activities."

The 4-0 Buckeyes, who are ranked fourth in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, will be ineligible for the Big Ten Championship Game if one of its final two games (against Michigan State and Michigan) are canceled, per Kyle Rowland of the Toledo Blade.

However, the College Football Playoff committee could still choose OSU for its four-team postseason field even if the Buckeyes don't qualify to play in the Big Ten title game, per Brett McMurphy of Stadium.

The Big Ten has stated that a team must play at least six conference games to qualify.

As Dan Hope of Eleven Warriors noted, OSU has now had two games canceled because of COVID-19 outbreaks. The first one, which was scheduled for Nov. 14 against Maryland, was called off following positive tests within the Terrapins' program.

In addition, Hope clarified that OSU has not confirmed the identities (or amount) of players who have tested positive.

However, those players are now ineligible to suit up for the rest of the regular season because of the Big Ten's policy that forbids players from taking the field for 21 days following a confirmed positive COVID-19 test.

OSU is currently scheduled to visit Michigan State on Saturday, Dec. 5 and host Michigan on Sat., Dec. 12. The Big Ten Championship Game is slated for Sat., Dec. 19.

For now, the program's football team activities have been paused. Per the release, "the program will resume its team activities when its medical staff determines it is safe to do so based on protocols established by the Big Ten Conference."

The Buckeyes opened this season with wins in all four games, averaging 45.25 points in victories over Nebraska, Penn State, Rutgers and Indiana.

Ohio State will play Saturday's game without head coach Ryan Day.

The university announced Friday that Day tested positive for COVID-19. Assistant head coach Larry Johnson will take charge of the team this week:

In addition to Day's result, Ohio State said in its announcement that it has had "an increased number of positive tests this week for the coronavirus."

Even though the number of positive tests has increased, the school did note it has not fallen below the threshold of available players needed to play Saturday's game as scheduled. 

Per Big Ten rules, teams must not have a positivity rate above five percent (7.5 percent including the traveling party) for games to go ahead. Coaches who test positive are required to isolate for at least 10 days. 

Day is in his second season as Buckeyes head coach since taking over for Urban Meyer. Johnson has served as an associate head coach and defensive line coach for the program since 2014. 

Ohio State (4-0) has three games remaining in the regular season, including Saturday's matchup with Illinois. 

Saturday's Ohio State vs. Illinois game could be in jeopardy after multiple Buckeyes tested positive for COVID-19, according to Dave Biddle of 247Sports. 

Per Kyle Rowland of the Toledo Blade, Ohio State's positive tests affect "multiple position groups." A decision regarding this weekend's game will be made Thursday. 

Ohio State had its matchup against Maryland canceled two weeks ago amid a COVID-19 outbreak among Maryland players, per ESPN's Heather Dinich.

More recently, the Big Ten has dealt with an outbreak in the Minnesota program, which had sidelined nine players and six staff members in the days before the cancellation of their Saturday game against Wisconsin. That cancellation was the first of the season for Minnesota but the third for the Badgers, who missed two consecutive games earlier this season because of positive tests within their program. 

Big Ten rules dictate that teams must play at least six times to be eligible for the conference championship game. So if Saturday's contest is canceled, the No. 3 Buckeyes—who at 4-0 were No. 4 in the first edition of the College Football Playoff rankings—must complete scheduled games against Michigan State (Dec. 5) and Michigan (Dec. 12) to have a chance at the trophy. However, the rule will change if the average number of games played dips under six conferencewide. 

Minnesota Golden Gophers wide receiver Rashod Bateman announced Wednesday he is opting out of the remainder of the 2020 season after a COVID-19 outbreak at the program forced the cancellation of this weekend's game vs. Wisconsin. 

The cancellation means that Minnesota-Wisconsin will not be played for the first time in 113 years.

Bateman, a 20-year-old junior, has 36 catches for 472 yards and two touchdowns in five games this season. He was a star in 2019, catching 60 passes for 1,219 yards and 11 scores, and was named the Big Ten wide receiver of the year. 

He'll now turn to draft preparations. On Mel Kiper Jr.'s Nov. 11 big board for the 2021 NFL draft, the ESPN draft pundit ranked Bateman No. 25. Kiper noted that the wideout "has long arms and the length to go and get the ball in traffic. He tracks the ball well on deep throws. The question about Bateman is his straight-line speed; his 40-yard dash time will be important."

Bateman enters a draft with a deep pool of talented wideouts, however, with Kiper ranking five players at the position—Alabama's DeVonta Smith (No. 5), LSU's Ja'Marr Chase (No. 6), Alabama's Jaylen Waddle (No. 11), LSU's Terrace Marshall Jr. (No. 21) and Purdue's Rondale Moore (No. 23)—above him.

Bateman had initially announced he would forgo the 2020 season entirely amid the coronavirus pandemic but opted back into the season in September. 

Per ESPN's Chris Low, Minnesota "had 20 players sit out because of a combination of injuries and COVID-19 issues for its 34-31 victory over Purdue on Friday" and has registered "nine student-athletes and six staff members who tested positive for COVID-19 in the past five days."

The school has paused all football activities for the time being.

The University of Minnesota football team will not travel to Wisconsin this weekend. 

Minnesota announced Tuesday that Saturday's game has been canceled due to positive tests for COVID-19 within the program. Colten Bartholomew of the Wisconsin State Journal reported that Minnesota canceled practice Tuesday and would hold virtual meetings following positive antigen tests Monday.

The 2-1 Badgers, who already had two games canceled due to COVID-19, could be ineligible for the Big Ten championship game because they may not play the minimum number of games needed to qualify (h/t CBS Sports). 

The Gophers have paused all team activities, citing a "rise in positive COVID-19 cases in the program," according to ESPN's Adam Rittenberg. He added that nine players and six staff members from Minnesota have returned positive tests in the last five days. 

Minnesota defeated Purdue 34-31 last week, but 22 players were "medically unavailable" for the game between the virus and injuries, and Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said "about half" of those players were sidelined with either a positive COVID test or as a result of contract tracing, per Bartholomew. 

Saturday's game is the first cancellation of the season for Minnesota and the third for the Wisconsin.

The Badgers, who are ranked No. 18 in the latest AP Top 25 poll, canceled two consecutive games earlier this year. After calling off the Oct. 31 game against Nebraska, Wisconsin also called off its Nov. 7 game against Purdue because of ongoing positive tests, per Ben Kercheval of CBS Sports. 

The Badgers will close out their season with games scheduled against No. 12 Indiana on Dec. 5 and Iowa on Dec. 12, while the 2-3 Gophers are scheduled to play No. 11 Northwestern on Dec. 5 and Nebraska on Dec. 12.

Penn State entered the 2020 college football season as the No. 8 team in the Associated Press poll, but the Nittany Lions have now registered the first 0-5 start in program history after falling at home to the Iowa Hawkeyes, 41-21 on Saturday. 

Per Brett McMurphy of Stadium, PSU is also guaranteed its first losing season since 2004, when the team went 4-7. The Nittany Lions' best possible result this year is 3-5 with three regular-season games remaining. 

Penn State's 15-season streak of winning records was the fourth-longest current run in Division I FBS, per McMurphy.

Penn State's football history dates back to 1887. The Nittany Lions have only had 18 losing seasons, including 2020.

PSU entered this season with high hopes despite some significant departures, including defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos (NFL draft) and linebacker Micah Parsons (opt out).

However, the season has snowballed into disaster following a stunning 36-35 overtime loss at Indiana that ended with Hoosiers quarterback Michael Penix Jr. scoring a two-point conversion on a play so close that officials could have called it either way.

PSU put up a respectable showing against No. 3 Ohio State the following week, losing 38-25. Wideout Jahan Dotson broke out with three touchdowns.

However, PSU followed that game with a 35-19 home loss to Maryland and a 30-23 road defeat to Nebraska.

The latter game saw Will Levis take over for a benched Sean Clifford at quarterback. PSU also notably trailed 27-6 at halftime.

On Saturday, the Nittany Lions led 7-3 but allowed 21 second-quarter points to trail 24-7 into the half. Dotson excelled again with eight catches for 139 yards and a touchdown, but PSU had no answer for the Iowa rushing attack, which accounted for 175 yards and four scores.

PSU will close it season with games against Michigan, Rutgers and Michigan State.