Split schedule fall to spring.
Not the sharpest tool in the shed but this is an idea we could throw around on a slow Monday. Play 6 games from Sept 5th thru Nov 7th implementing 2 games played followed by 2 weeks off. Restart with 2 weeks of spring practice starting on March 5th transitioning to games 2 weeks on 2 weeks off starting on March 27th thru May 15th. Have at it, or not??
August 10th, 2020 at 5:59 PM ^
This is common sense man. Common sense has not prevailed anywhere In the world the past 4 months so don’t count on it.
August 10th, 2020 at 6:36 PM ^
Anywhere in the world? South Korea and Taiwan would like to have a word with you.
August 10th, 2020 at 8:34 PM ^
Common sense doesn’t mean what you think it means
August 10th, 2020 at 9:48 PM ^
Anywhere in Merica...plenty of other countries have their shit together.
August 10th, 2020 at 6:01 PM ^
No! Players who may be draft eligible are not going to want to play right before the NFL Draft. Players would opt out altering the look of each team’s starters and depth charts too much between the fall and spring.
It’s all just too weird! But maybe someone can change my mind.
August 10th, 2020 at 6:03 PM ^
Why / how would this help with preventing the spread of the virus?
August 10th, 2020 at 6:17 PM ^
I could see it helping by providing multiple stop gaps to test players, and adjust/postpone schedules as needed based on testing.
It reduces the amount of actual games played per week by about two-thirds, which means fewer overall interactions per week followed by comprehensive testing weekly testing to contact trace all teams.
I'm too lazy to incrementally breakdown the specifics of a format like this, but I think the general premise is not a bad idea.
August 10th, 2020 at 6:34 PM ^
Seems unrealistic and unnecessary given that the risk of lots of people getting very sick far outweighs the cost of lots of people being more bored than usual.
August 10th, 2020 at 6:08 PM ^
No. How 'bout just don't play a contact amateur sport involving dozens of players during a pandemic that demands social distancing? Does that work for you?
August 10th, 2020 at 6:16 PM ^
Exactly! And its just for 2 months.. 2 effing months of quarantine and we would have been done and be talking about college football. But no.. this is the future we live in
August 10th, 2020 at 6:22 PM ^
Really?
Because it seems like all the six weeks of lockdowns did was push the bell curve further into the future. I buy the masks and social distancing thing, I don't know that two more weeks of sitting around doing nothing would have helped at all
August 10th, 2020 at 7:20 PM ^
You really didn't believe they were ever going to go back to school and not have some noticable transmission on all of these campuses? Expecting that was NEVER going be realistic. There millions of college kids who live in a world where they are basically on top of each other daily. You can't stop a pandemic in that environment.
August 10th, 2020 at 8:20 PM ^
Michigan's stay-at-home order was from March 23 to June 1. That's more than two months.
It might do us well to remember what "flatten the curve" actually means and understand that it's by nature a long-term strategy, not something that is over in a matter of weeks. The whole point of it is to have a gradual pace of infections through the population, at a rate that prevents our health systems from being overwhelmed.
August 11th, 2020 at 7:06 AM ^
Exactly. Seems we lost our way with this and expect the infection rate to be zero and the virus to disappear.
August 11th, 2020 at 7:05 AM ^
2 months of quarantine would not have allowed for a non bubble contact sport to be played. It’s just wouldn’t have. Even in all these countries who have better numbers than America, who supposedly did it the ‘only right way’ are still having clusters of infections. Bubble or no contact sports seems like the only reality to me.
August 10th, 2020 at 6:37 PM ^
The only contact spreading the virus is the Sparty players hanging out at Harpers and the Bucknuts going to the blind pig strip clubs.
Where is the documented virus spread through football contact?
August 10th, 2020 at 7:42 PM ^
The idea that 20-year-olds playing football in empty stadiums would pose some grave danger to society is ridiculous.
Cancelling football is "doing something" about the virus, because the public demands that something be done. That's all it is - security theater.
August 10th, 2020 at 8:16 PM ^
How 'bout just don't play a contact amateur sport involving dozens of players during a pandemic that demands social distancing
So having hundreds of thousands of college students return to campus is cool, but a small percentage of them playing football is the line in the sand we won't cross?
August 10th, 2020 at 9:53 PM ^
having hundreds of thousands of college students return to campus is cool, but a small percentage of them playing football
Just FYI, there are 100,000+ NCAA athletes. Football isn't the only sport that is relevant here. Canceling every other sport except football would be incredibly stupid, possibly illegal, and hypocritical.
8.0.3August 11th, 2020 at 12:01 AM ^
Ala Stanford (to start), many of those 100k student athletes sport’s will be shuttered because their athletic departments won’t be able to afford the associated costs.... because they’re canceling the #1 revenue sport.
But hey... it seems unanimously accepted that college football teams are the greatest danger to colleges and society as a vector for the virus... not.. you know.. bars, clubs, house parties... all the places college kids will flock to whether football happens or not. Every person supporting this is just an ostrich with their head in the sand. Hope it feels good to posture while no risk is actually being mitigated.
August 10th, 2020 at 6:10 PM ^
Not a terrible idea really. I mean I don't see it happening, but I could see a scenario where had they formalized a plan around something like this back in June where you play a regionally based 12-game schedule, 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off for testing and contract tracing you could more easily track infections and temporarily shut down a roster as needed until an outbreak is contained - seems would be a more manageable way to limit spreading.
Teams play their first 6 games in the fall, and the remaining 6 in the spring when (hopefully) we've made progress for testing, treatment and vaccination. Now with all that said, this is not going to happen mostly because the NCAA bureaucracy is filled with incompetent twits starting at the top.
August 10th, 2020 at 6:11 PM ^
If you can make it through the first half, why stop?
August 10th, 2020 at 6:18 PM ^
Now hold on just a second!! Are you trying to bring logic to this discussion!? NOT UP IN HERE!
August 10th, 2020 at 6:33 PM ^
Until you address how you're going to deal with regular college students interacting with players and transmitting the virus, there's no discussion
Either you're keeping the players from interacting with students on campus or you're keeping the students from coming to campus. Without that, there will assuredly be outbreaks
August 10th, 2020 at 6:39 PM ^
Why are we pretending like football players actually go to class? Anyway, classes are online and some nerd takes the tests for them. The players can easily be isolated from other students through discipline as Harbaugh argued. Unfortunately there are too many wanting to spread fear who have an agenda.
August 10th, 2020 at 6:54 PM ^
Troll status confirmed.
Now we can all ignore your posts.
August 10th, 2020 at 7:56 PM ^
That won't be an issue going forward.
Fair warning to all: If all of your recent posts are downplaying/spreading false info about the severity of this pandemic, don't be surprised if your account goes poof.
August 10th, 2020 at 7:23 PM ^
This is exactly the case. There is going be lots of interaction between people this age and in that type of environment over 3 months. Need talk about what's realistic cause likely going to be handful of cases for every school over next few months. Question should be okay if that happens now what?
August 10th, 2020 at 6:59 PM ^
Joel Klatt just suggested the 2 week on 2 week off on Big 10 Live while also using the trumpian suicide, auto deaths, and heart attacks excuse to open up the country. I am now suicidal.
August 10th, 2020 at 7:27 PM ^
What you mean look at actual data instead of making emotional decisions? Yeah that's dumb isn't it.
Society can be easily manipulated when large numbers are at play that's why using comparisons gives people a more accurate gauge
August 10th, 2020 at 7:44 PM ^
Except that if you think about any of those comparisons for 10 seconds they aren't useful in the least.
August 10th, 2020 at 7:12 PM ^
Cousin Roy might be able to help you out with a sharper tool.
August 10th, 2020 at 7:38 PM ^
What if we played one game a year for a decade?
August 11th, 2020 at 10:18 AM ^
The NAIA is letting teams play in the fall or the spring and holding their playoffs in the spring. I know that there are some conferences who are playing 6 games in the fall and then starting up again in the spring to finish there season.