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The Game Is Off. Long Live The Game. Comment Count

Seth December 8th, 2020 at 1:58 PM

For the first time since 1917, Michigan will not play Ohio State.

While it's the correct decision, and does break the streak, I'm sure it's heartbreaking to players who dreamed of doing it the old fashioned way.

Michigan would still have to get a significant number of guys back from the 21-day window in order to participate in the showcase game, and will almost certainly be without a number of key players if they do make it.

There will be much gnashing of teeth over the fact that Ohio State did not play the minimum number of games required to qualify for the Big Ten Championship Game, followed by the Big Ten changing its rules to let 5-0 Ohio State, the only team to miss just one game for its COVID outbreak, in over a currently 6-1 Indiana, which had zero COVID outbreaks, but lost to Ohio State. Since Michigan probably would have won, I'm sure the Buckeyes will now line up in gratitude for saving their playoff hopes, not to mention the health and safety of their players.

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Comments

M-Dog

December 8th, 2020 at 2:15 PM ^

I should be unhappy about this.  I am not.

That fact makes me even more unhappy.

Just flush this entire season, it is making me deranged.

 

Joined: 07/06/2008

MGoPoints: 257515

Seth

December 8th, 2020 at 2:26 PM ^

Did you read my feature on this in HTTV?

Not only did they play in 1918, they rescheduled it to late November--for the first time, the last game of the season---because of the flu pandemic in October. It was also the first time Michigan-Ohio State was a conference game. Michigan's victory won them the national championship.

Joined: 10/14/2008

MGoPoints: 149219

carolina blue

December 8th, 2020 at 2:19 PM ^

This really paves the way for a soft exit for Harbaugh if that is to be the case. There’s one problem...the guy we want is playing this weekend. So, we have to wait. In our best possible timeline ISU narrowly loses to OU on Saturday and sometime next week we announce the departure of Harbaugh and the signing of Campbell.

 

None of that will actually happen. 

Joined: 02/12/2014

MGoPoints: 30259

Erik_in_Dayton

December 8th, 2020 at 4:06 PM ^

I have no idea if Michigan will be able to play next week, but it will be because of bad luck if they cannot. There is no realistic way to keep 85+ people completely sealed off from the virus 100% of the time. All of us are at the mercy of chance here to some extent. All that we can do is mitigate the risk that we face.

Joined: 12/03/2008

MGoPoints: 59152

Gulogulo37

December 8th, 2020 at 6:30 PM ^

Probably because morale was at an all-time low. Bruce Feldman talked about this a lot before the season. Sure you can have guys be super disciplined, but what happens if someone has a season where the wheels off? Testing every day sucks. Isolating from your friends and family sucks. You really gonna continue to make your life so shitty so you can get stomped by OSU when there's nothing to play for?

Edit: https://twitter.com/mgoblog/status/1336398709538648067?s=19

The program didn't want guys going home for Thanksgiving, but players went anyway. 

Joined: 03/16/2010

MGoPoints: 28319