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Breaking News: Wisconsin's Game With Nebraska Canceled Because of COVID-19 Positives

More than a dozen people in the Wisconsin football program have tested positive for COVID-19, including coach Paul Chryst and six players. Their game is the first to be canceled in the Big Ten, but the 37th college game to be lost this fall so far.
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UPDATED 11:36 a.m ET

Wisconsin has been forced to cancel its game with Nebraska on Saturday because of more than a dozen positive COVID-19 tests with the program, the school announced in a statement.

The total number of positive results exceed a threshold for competition according to the Big Ten's protocols for participation, which were established when the league decided to have a fall season after originally postponing it. Wisconsin will be forced to pause workouts in the program for seven days.

The game will be declared no contest and will be neither a victory nor a loss for either team. Wisconsin is scheduled to play Purdue next week. 

According to a UW release:

The joint decision to pause football activities and cancel Saturday’s game was made by Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez and UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank, in consultation with the Big Ten Conference. The game will not be rescheduled.

“We have said from the beginning that the health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches and staff members comes first,” Alvarez said. “Over the past several days we have seen a rising number of student-athletes and staff contract the virus. The responsible thing for us to do is to pause football-related activities for at least seven days.”

Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst is among the dozen people in the program who tested positive. There were six players who tested positive, plus six staff members.

'This morning I received the news that I had tested positive via a PCR test I took yesterday,” Chryst said Wednesday morning. “I informed my staff and the team this morning and am currently isolating at home. I had not been experiencing any symptoms and feel good as of this morning.

“I am disappointed for our players and coaching staff who put so much into preparing to play each week. But the safety of everyone in our program has to be our top priority and I support the decision made to pause our team activities.”

Wisconsin is a top-10 team with aspirations of winning division and conference titles this season, and maybe more. But their quarterback room has suddenly been gutted and their entire season is now in jeopardy.

Redshirt freshman Graham Mertz was fabulous in his debut last Friday, completing 20 of 21 passes in a 45-7 win over Illinois, but on Saturday he tested positive for COVID-19 during the Big Ten's daily antigen testing, and a more thorough test on Sunday confirmed it. Protocols in place say he must sit out at least 21 days, which means he'll miss at least three games.

Mertz only started because veteran QB Jack Coan was out after having foot surgery following an injury in practice earlier in the month. And then, to make matters worse, third-string quarterback Chase Wolf also has COVID. He's now on the shelf, too. The fourth-string QB is Danny Vanden Boom.

COVID numbers are spiking around the country again. Two more games have had to be postponed again this week, North Texas at UTEP and Marshall at Florida International. Since the season started in early September, 36 games have either been postponed or canceled thus far.

The Big Ten delayed the start of its season until a daily testing plan could be in place. They're playing eight games in eight weeks before the conference title game, so  there is no room to reschedule games. If the game can't be played, it's considered a "no contest,'' but the league also has mandated that a team has to play at least six games to qualify for the Big Ten Championship Game,

In the next two weeks, Wisconsin is scheduled to play Purdue and Michigan. 

The roster strafing has had a dramatic effect on the point spread for this game, for those of you who like to make a wager or two. The opening line on Sunday night had Wisconsin favored by 10.5 points. It was down to 3 points on Tuesday, and on many sites across the country, the game has been taken off the board.

Now that the game is canceled, bets already placed on the game will be refunded.

Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz looks and completes one of his 20 completed passes Friday night. Mertz only threw one incompletion and threw four of his five touchdowns in the first half in Wisconsin's opening victory over Illinois,

Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz looks and completes one of his 20 completed passes Friday night. Mertz only threw one incompletion and threw four of his five touchdowns in the first half in Wisconsin's opening victory over Illinois,

Purdue 's Jeff Brohm back to work

Purdue coach Jeff Brohm had to miss the season opener himself because of COVID-19, and he watched the Boilermakers' big 24-20 win over Iowa alone at home with his dog. He didn't like it much.

He said he has dealt with some symptoms from the virus, but feels ready to get back to work on Wednesday when his mandated 10 days of isolation expires.

“I think that this isolation, and I’ve taken a little time to get over a few of the symptoms, but it’s like a normal sickness that you get,” Brohm said. “It might last longer than some of the others that we’ve had but I feel good and ready to get back. I can’t wait for Wednesday.”

Purdue is on the road at Illinois on Saturday, and the Boilermakers would love to get off to a 2-0 start and stay atop the standings in the Big Ten West. That race is wide open this year, especially with the sudden changes now at Wisconsin. Illinois beat the Boilers last year, so turning the tables would be nice.

Being on the sidelines will beat watching from home, Brohm said.

“There were a few times when I yelled, the dog knew to get in the corner and get very quiet. So, I felt bad that I scared the dog a few times,” Brohm said. “For the most part, I was somewhat calm and collected. I didn’t enjoy it, but it was fun to watch our team compete to the end and win.”

More bad news for Penn State

Penn State confirmed Tuesday that running back Noah Cain is out for the year after injuring his foot during the first quarter of the Nittany Lions' game at Indiana. Their once-loaded running back room is now shrinking dramatically.  

On Saturday, Cain carried the ball three times for 13 yards and spent the second half on the sideline, wearing a boot on his left foot.

"Obviously losing Noah is not ideal," Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford said. "He's a key factor to our offense and somebody who is a leader there, too. I wish him nothing but a good recovery.''

Cain started because Journey Brown was ruled out last week because of an undisclosed medical condition. That was on top of Ricky Slade deciding to transfer in the offseason, mostly because of he crowded running back room full of four-star and five-star backs. Now Penn State coach James Franklin will have to rely on youngsters Devyn Ford – who has only 72 career carries — will be relied upon heavily now, and freshmen Keyvone Lee and Caziah Holmes will have to play as well.

Penn State Nittany Lions running back Noah Cain (21) runs the ball in the second quarter against the Memphis Tigers at AT&T Stadium last December. (Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports)

Penn State Nittany Lions running back Noah Cain (21) runs the ball in the second quarter against the Memphis Tigers at AT&T Stadium last December. (Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports)

Justin Fields running too much?

No. 3-ranked Ohio State has national championship aspirations, but to do that, they need quarterback Justin Fields to stay healthy all season. So was coach Ryan Day comfortable with Fields running 15 times for 54 yards and leading the Buckeyes in rushing.

"Yeah I thought he did a great job. Most of those runs were scrambles and that's about what we do in terms of the run game - he'll pull it some,'' Day said. "But a lot of the running was passes. I thought he extended some plays really well and that's part of his game. There's going to be sacks, but there's also extended plays for huge plays and that's the game for Justin.

"With him, for every sack, you're going to get two or three extended plays. There's three in particular: one was the touchdown run and if you tell him to throw it away there, he doesn't scramble for a touchdown. So there's a give-and-take, and I think as the year progressed last year and even into this year, he's doing a good job of it. He's taking care of the football and making decisions at the right time.'

Day is hoping he still can make bigger plays downfield in the passing game. 

"I think there are times he can keep his eyes downfield a little longer, but overall I thought it was a really good game for him," Day said.