A preview. Apparently they played an FCS game last weekend. How did it go? Strangely, because Austin Peay was missing all three of their longsnappers:

The announcers noted that Austin Peay's long snapper didn't make the trip and a backup was in, but that's not quite right.

Austin Peay has *three* long snappers on the roster, #43, #46, and #47.
But last night, #33 was snapping. That's not any of those guys! pic.twitter.com/BHnH7kLnxs

— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) August 30, 2020

That guy was a backup LB at Mississippi State who transferred in and those snaps probably cost his team the game, not that any blame should fall on the emergency fourth-string long snapper. Rodger goes into all the detail you could possibly want on this eventuality in that twitter thread. Austin Peay isn't saying it was COVID, but I mean come on.

Moral of the story: keep a longsnapper in a bubble. And get ready for this to happen in a ton of games.

[After THE JUMP: is it because he's from Chicago and a cow burned the city down once?]

Overheated but uses the word "sources." Dennis Dodd has an article that's pretty over the top about the dilemma facing the Big Ten. I mean…

There may not be a clear solution. The presidents have the power to fire Warren. There is no evidence they are considering such a move.

Eyerolling commences. The Big Ten is not going to fire the guy who announced the decision. I link it anyway because Dodd has a couple of sources that say the Thanksgiving start floated a couple days ago is unlikely:

One Big Ten source said a fall 2020 start may hinge on a medical "miracle" surrounding COVID-19 (better testing and contact tracing).

Big Ten sources increasingly indicate the league's focus is on developing the best spring 2021 schedule possible.

Better testing is a possibility, as this space has mentioned a couple times in the past. If we ramp point of contact testing to the point where college athletes can be tested regularly then it's a different world. The one we're currently in features fourth-string long snappers.

From "we couldn't possibly" to hawking shirts. No students on campus used to be a no-go for college athletics. Not so much now:

The NCAA has filed a trademark for "BATTLE IN THE BUBBLE."

The filing, made on August 26th, indicates:

1. The NCAA intends to use a bubble for potentially multiple sports.

2. The NCAA intends to sell BATTLE IN THE BUBBLE branded clothing.#NCAA #bubble pic.twitter.com/9M1bobLBw5

— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) August 31, 2020

When beetles battle baskets and the basket's in a bubble we call that a Emmert memmert ding a dong monetization opportunity.

Wagner returns, speaks on draft status. 50/50 he's gone after this year and I only give college a 50% shot because of Franz's inherent Wagner-ness:

“For me, I just wanted to see how the (NBA undergraduate advisory) committee evaluated me and that’s really all I did. I just waited to hear back from them and I heard what I wanted to hear and was really ready to get back to work with Michigan.”

What feedback did Wagner receive from NBA teams?

“I heard that I’m at least on the radar,” Wagner said. “A couple had me in the second round. That’s kind of what I expected after the year I had, or what I hoped before the year. So I was really happy about that, but also know that I have a lot to learn, so I’m really excited that I have opportunity to go back (to school).”

If his shooting remains stuck at the spot it was last year that would be the most likely scenario for a return.

Now do a hook and ladder off it. Hal Mumme's latest innovation:

Only Hal Mumme. Belhaven goes for it on 4th and long and the Blazers move the chains in the weirdest way possible @RedditCFB @edsbs pic.twitter.com/YeM37Tx9TG

— Chris Hudgison (@ChrisHudgison) October 29, 2016

So that's a lateral to a receiver who threatens to throw and then punts it off an opponent, allowing one of his teammates to recover. Austin Peay should have tried it.

Economist bakes cake. Also writes a paper. If you're interested in 71 pages of economics research about where the money that's flooded into college athletes over the past 20 years has gone, here you go. If you're more of a Cliffs Notes person:

Using a variety of identification strategies, we identify three consistent areas sharing increased rents:

(1) Other money-losing sports;
(2) Coaching and administrative salaries; and
(3) Facility spending.

Revenue sport athletes don't enjoy more money because they can't (5/6)

— Craig Garthwaite (@C_Garthwaite) August 31, 2020

I know this is not a shocking finding to anyone who's glanced at an athletic department recently but having academic heft behind arguments is always good. Also this guy baked a cake shaped like Michigan Stadium:

One final point, and this is from a fan that baked a cake yesterday to memorialize the loss of Michigan Football.

Even I was shocked by how fast the money grew in the past decade.

We are all frogs in boiling water that haven't noticed how exactly much money there is now (16/6) pic.twitter.com/yrO3B2b2yl

— Craig Garthwaite (@C_Garthwaite) August 31, 2020

So you have to trust him.

A protest. EMU and Michigan players participated in a protest on the Diag:

Reynolds, like many of the athletes in attendance, wants to use his platform for change. Wearing a shirt featuring a kneeling Colin Kaepernick, the senior defensive back for the Wolverines spoke after the event about the importance of activism.

“It’s just tiring waking up, going on Twitter, and seeing there’s been another instance of police brutality against an African American,” he said. “Even though it’s tiring, it’s something we have to continue to speak out against.”

Always up for person in animal costume interviews. This iteration is a bunch of cows referring to themselves as "Howard's Herd":

“After Beilein left, we didn’t really know where we would go,” Goldstein said. “We weren’t even sure if we would dress up anymore.”

About a week later, Juwan Howard was named Michigan’s coach. Almost as soon as the deal was finalized, the Bee-Line began brainstorming potential ideas for a new name, and came up with the aforementioned “Howard’s Herd.”

Despite new costumes, the  spirit of Howard’s Herd has remained steady. Whether they're dancing to “Everytime We Touch,” executing free throw distractions or trash-talking opponents, Howard’s Herd is always front and center in Section 130 and a constant presence on TV broadcasts.

Nothing is likely to best Smotrycz's Lobstryczs, but there's no shame in that.

Sacrifice all for hockey. Chris Dilks on the prospects for starting hockey:

What has changed in recent weeks is a strong push from college basketball to begin their season around Thanksgiving weekend. If college basketball is able to start, then there is little reason that hockey can’t be played as well. The theory is that most colleges will be sending students home after Thanksgiving and with no students on campus, it will be easier to keep the virus in check and out of locker rooms. I think there will be enough push to get basketball games back on the court that it will happen, and college hockey should be able to start around the same time.

There are still a lot of unknown variables, however, that could change things, both for the good and the bad. On the plus side, cheap, widely-available rapid saliva testing is looked at as a potential game-changer for allowing sports to go forward. If that becomes an option, we’ll almost definitely see sports this year. Increased awareness and mask use could also play a role in keeping virus counts heading in the right direction.

Dilks notes that hockey is break-even at best and that the prospect of playing without fans would make financial situations worse for an already expensive sport. This probably wouldn't impact the Big Ten enough that they wouldn't go forward, especially if hockey might offer a couple months of content that football isn't late this year.

Etc.: RIP John Thompson. Allen Trieu talks Michigan's recruiting situation. Aidan Hutchinson says he wants to play another year of college football before a potential NFL departure.