New Quarantines Raise Questions About 2020 Football Season

As the proposed season nears, the picture isn't getting any clearer.

In an ever-evolving sports world that's constantly adjusting to the coronavirus pandemic, the prospect of a 2020 college football season took a hit this weekend. After Michigan State football went into a self-imposed 14-day quarantine following positive COVID-19 tests from several members of the program, fellow Big Ten East team Rutgers followed suit on Saturday. 

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Moves like these prompt plenty of questions as the planned return of collegiate sports draws closer. As of now, Florida State is still set to open against West Virginia in Atlanta on September 5. We've heard about the ACC possibly going to a slate of 10 conference games, with one non-con rivalry game, and perhaps a delayed start. 

But then there's Oklahoma, which has actually moved its opener up on the schedule.

So who knows what's coming-- although we should be finding out more soon, as the ACC has stated that it'll announce its plans for the 2020 campaign in late July, which means, really, any day now.

But what of the immediate quarantine deal? It sure does seem like it's a matter of when, and not if, that possibility presents itself during a 2020 football season, be it comprised of mostly conference games or not. Will quarantining be left up to individual institutions? Will conferences -- or maybe states -- impose a standard? Will quarantines be across entire teams, or just focus on certain players? How long will results of testing take, and what takes place in the meantime? What's the outcome if one program shuts down for a couple weeks? In that event, what happens to the other teams on their schedules?

The questions abound, but as conferences decide upon what the new normal looks like, these are queries that must be addressed.