The crux. Adam Rittenberg has a extensive article on the Big Ten's decision to play after all. This is the heart of the matter:

"You're catching somebody with a positive before they're even contagious," said Dr. Jeff Mjaanes, Northwestern's head team physician and a member of the Big Ten's medical subcommittee. "That's a huge breakthrough in this. If we can do that on a daily basis, which is what's in our proposal, then we can identify people before they're even infectious, and we can remove them and really maintain the sanctity and the health of the team.

"With daily antigen testing, if you're able to identify somebody before they're actually contagious, and we can remove them, it almost completely eliminates the need for contact tracing."

The other key component was getting everyone access to the equipment OSU doctors used to find myocarditis in asymptomatic athletes:

Mjaanes said the Big Ten also was able to "secure some workarounds" so that every school could have access to cardiac MRIs. Penn State, for example, formed a partnership with Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center so that any athletes who test positive will drive the 90 minutes to Hershey, Pennsylvania, for their cardiac tests. Heading into the Aug. 11 vote, a few Big Ten schools couldn't easily process cardiac MRIs, which are key in detecting myocarditis and other heart issues.

Thus a delayed but extant football season.

[After THE JUMP: print out these hockey draft rankings and use them to build a horse]

As Northwestern's president said:

"Medical opinion changed," Schapiro said. "Paul Samuelson, the great economist, was once asked why he changed his mind, and he said, 'When the facts change, my mind changes.' Doesn't the same thing happen for you? The facts change, our minds change."

Trying to do this without daily point of contact testing has resulted in a ~33% postponement/cancellation rate.

by my count this is the 15th FBS game that's been canceled/postponed since the season started. by comparison there have only been 29 games actually played https://t.co/9koUSOBw2p

— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) September 18, 2020

If cases tick up on campus that'll probably get worse before it gets better. I haven't seen any information about whether and how the Big 12, SEC, and ACC are adopting the point of contact testing.

The scheduling frenzy. Attempting to herd 350+ cats into various college basketball bubbles is a big, hairy job:

"Everyone's scrambling" has been a consistent refrain from people throughout college basketball, as has a specific four-letter obscenity that precedes "show."

Nonconference games remain on the table for almost all leagues except the Ivy, which is in the unique position of having a lot of money and not caring about sports all that much. Multi-team bubble events are likely to be regional since long-distance travel and commercial flights are both bad ideas, and a testing disparity between high and low major may prevent many buy-game-type matchups:

"We're probably not going to [be able to schedule] any high-majors," one SoCon head coach said.

As a result, with potentially limited opportunities for mid-majors to get statement wins against high-major programs, it could be difficult for any typical "one-bid" leagues to get an at-large bid come March.

Also apparently they've reduced the number of games?

Some leagues are playing 20 conference games, leaving just seven games to schedule in nonconference.

Schools usually play ~34 regular season games.

Items specific to Michigan:

• The Empire Classic is tentatively moving to the Mohegan Sun casino that's going to host all this company's events. It may happen November 25th and 26th. It would seem to make sense to play some more games there if possible, but no word on that yet.
• The Big Ten-ACC challenge is apparently going to proceed on campus.
• There is "not a lot of optimism" that most of the Gavitt Games will be salvaged. Those had not been announced yet; Michigan was probably not amongst the Big Ten teams slated.

This is fine, men's gymnastics edition. Love to see athletic directors at Iowa and Minnesota protect their paychecks over the athletes they've ruthlessly cut because of a temporary revenue hiccup:

Universities have been dropping men’s gymnastics programs since the advent of Title IX in 1972, so this isn’t a new problem, but it’s one accelerated by the pandemic. There were 15 men’s programs competing last season and three — Iowa, Minnesota and William & Mary — have dropped the sport due to budget cuts. That means of the three colleges where Golder has coached, Michigan is the only one that still has a men’s gymnastics program.

“You’re seeing the demise of your sport, to some extent, right in front of your eyes,” Golder said.

You get ten times the money you had twenty years ago. There is no excuse for any Big Ten program to be dropping sports. You know the money is coming back. Interest rates are zero. Borrow and keep your program afloat instead of dropping programs that cost less than one year of absurd Kirk Ferentz bonuses.

Hinton is in. Chris Hinton's parents were amongst the most outspoken about coronavirus concerns this summer, so it's good that they seem to be satisfied:

“I truly believe that if our son were to contract the virus, it won’t be on the football field,” Chris Sr. said. “I think it would be on campus. So with the things that are put into place, I think he’s safer on the football field than he is on campus.”

As for the lack of bye weeks and prep time before the season, Chris Sr. isn’t concerned. He and Mya were in Ann Arbor this week and, through their conversations with Chris Jr., are encouraged by the level at which Michigan has been practicing. “They’ve been training like they’re getting ready for a season,” Chris Sr. said. The Wolverines’ ability to continue full-speed practices (albeit without pads) after the initial cancelation will help them avoid soft-tissue injuries once the season starts, he added.

The unspoken part of "he's safer playing football than being on campus" is "why are people on campus?" But at least someone seems to be doing something reasonably well!

That'll happen. Michigan's schedule difficulty went up quite a bit:

Purdue and Northwestern, the two west teams Michigan dropped from the second version of the schedule, are the two biggest beneficiaries.

Also in increasing difficulty:

Source: Minnesota star WR Rashod Bateman wants to play for Gophers in 2020. He’s back on campus and enrolled as a full-time student. He’s signed with agent and finds himself in the same scenario as other high-profile players around the country.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 18, 2020

Rashod Bateman vs Ambry Thomas would have been a great matchup. Rashod Bateman versus Not Ambry Thomas… uh.

Large man still large. Mike Onwenu is still larger than everyone else on the football field:

#GoPats rookie OL Michael Onwenu is a large, powerful human being (weighed over 360 pounds at the East-West Shrine game). Already throwing around NFL linebackers. https://t.co/J8NJMWOKGh

— Brad Kelly (@BradKelly17) September 18, 2020

He's PFF's second-best offensive rookie through week two. Do not look at #1.

Confidence, for men. Deion Sanders is the new head coach of Jacksonville State. His press conferences are already legendary:

Maybe the quote of the presser from #CoachPrime.
“Confidence is my natural odor” pic.twitter.com/YESZD1LFB9

— Joe Cook (@JoeCookSports) September 22, 2020

May he succeed and provide many more press conferences.

More hockey draft rankings. Scott Wheeler's final 2020 rankings are out at the Athletic. They are biblical in length, with writeups on the top 100 guys, so in addition to the now-familiar takes on Thomas Bordeleau (#33, "imaginative creator who has learned to pick apart teams in the offensive zone with his blend of puck skill, cross-ice vision and ingenuity") and Brendan Brisson (#35, "A-level one-timer … reads and reacts to pressure at one of the highest levels in this draft") we get some details on jack-of-all-trades D Jacob Truscott…

He’s a smart, heady player with the puck who does a good job keeping his shots low and on target and an even better job quickly moving the puck up ice from his own zone. Defensively, though his footwork and gap control could use some work, I like his ability to disrupt defensive zone sequences and make plays back the other way. The time that college will afford him to refine his game will be crucial to his development but I liked what I saw more often than not.

…and class of 2021 D Ethan Edwards:

Edwards is one of the airiest-skating defencemen in this draft, particularly on his edges, where he can close gaps laterally, walk the line or evade pressure with the best players in this class. He will need to get stronger if he wants to add necessary power to his physical, tightly gapped brand or straight-line explosiveness to his already impressive skating technique. … doesn’t turn 18 until June and he won’t join the University of Michigan until 2021 because he still needs some fine-tuning.

Wheeler has Truscott and Edwards in the 3rd or 4th rounds. More on Brisson from NHL's central scouting:

"He's got all the elements there of being a high-end player," Central Scouting's Greg Rajanen said. "He's a really good skater in all directions, and quick in-tight. He makes plays in traffic, has quick hands and a quick release and moves the puck well.

"Most importantly he has high hockey IQ and knows how to slow the game down, which is hard for younger players."

The Athletic's other insanely detailed NHL prospect ranker, Corey Pronman, has a top 122 with Brisson at 14(!)…

He has the slick 1-on-1 skill to beat defenders consistently and make plays in small areas. He’s an extremely creative playmaker who can make a lot of plays off the perimeter and make plays with pace. He improvises very well, making high-end plays under pressure. Brisson is a great passer, but also a great goal-scorer, who scored numerous goals off his one-timer. … limitations in his size and speed.

…and Bordeleau at 33

… high-end playmaker and the puck ran through him on the NTDP power play. He has the patience to let plays develop and find teammates through seams. … hard wrist shot … I’d like to see him attack defensemen more with his skill. … top option to take faceoffs.

Truscott and Edwards do not make his list.

Etc.: Wave of NFL injuries is hypothesized to be a result of unusual covid-induced offseason. Spencer Hall on The Death of Stalin. A tree falls in Houston. The best military crest competition is over. Ben Mathis-Lilley on the reopening.