The Two Biggest Questions if College Football Returns and Their Impact on BYU

Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger wrote about the two biggest questions surrounding the return of College Football - In-season testing and game interruptions.

Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger wrote about the two biggest questions surrounding the return of College Football - In-season testing and game interruptions. You can read the full story here. Here are a few highlights from his story:

Tulane started a testing protocol last month which requires "everyone in Tulane’s bubble—athletes and staff members alike—is tested twice a week." Tulane's Greg Stewart, the team physician, says "this is the most likely scenario in-season." Dellenger notes that "this is more frequent than most, if not all, schools that have welcomed back athletes this summer. In fact, the school’s bill for testing last month was roughly $100,000."

Dellenger on the two unresolved issues that loom over college football:

"If college football is played this fall—doubts have crept up among NCAA leaders—two unresolved issues loom over the sport more than any other: in-season testing and game interruptions. Rising positive virus cases across the country have both impacted the availability of tests and their return speed, doctors say, while a universal testing protocol remains non-existent. At the same time, administrators believe the latest spikes could result in even more game cancellations than they had originally expected."

Dellenger shed some light on the conversations happening behind the scenes. "The NCAA Football Oversight Committee, a critical law-making body, is examining protocols for in-season game interruptions as a result of viral outbreaks, and the group is even considering extending the regular season." Dellenger said. "Meanwhile, conference commissioners, in conjunction with NCAA executives in Indianapolis, are drafting minimum testing standards and protocols, officials told SI. It is an attempt to create a uniform rule for all 130 FBS programs, something administrators feel is necessary for non-conference competitions—if there are any of those."

Impacting BYU especially, in-season testing protocols are the reason conferences are deciding to play a conference-only schedule. "Bob Bowlsby says he believes FBS will have a 'minimum standard' but each conference will have its own policies. 'I think we’ll end up with something that is comparable among schools and among conferences, but I don’t know that it has to be identical,' he says." - Ross Dellenger

Therein lies the problem for BYU. Would they be willing to comply to the different standards of every conference? Probably, but it would certainly be a headache to manage. For Tom Holmoe, scheduling additional games is much more complex than finding teams with openings on the correct weekends. The 2020 college football season, if it happens, will be unlike any other in BYU history.