Breaking: Wisconsin Forced to Cancel Saturday's Game With Purdue

No. 10 Wisconsin's game against Purdue on Nov. 7 has been canceled as the program continues to deal with a COVID-19 outbreak, the Badgers announced Tuesday.

Wisconsin has 27 active COVID-19 cases within its program. The cases are comprised of 15 athletes and 12 staff members. All football activities remain paused. Saturday's game will not be rescheduled and will be ruled a "no contest" due to schedule restraints.

"I share in the disappointment of our student-athletes and staff," athletic director Barry Alvarez said in a release from the school. "We have seen a level of improvement in our testing numbers, but not enough to give us confidence to resume normal activities and play our game on Saturday. We will continue to test regularly, take the proper health-related precautions and look forward to getting our team back on the field as soon as possible."

The Badgers were forced to cancel their Week 2 contest against Nebraska due to 12 positive COVID-19 tests recorded last Wednesday. Alvarez provided an update on ESPN's College GameDay last Saturday morning and said the program had 22 positive cases, including 12 players and 10 staff members.

Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski was disappointed in the decision, but he certainly understands Wisconsin's problem. The Boilermakers are off to a 2-0 start, posting wins against Iowa and Illinois thus far.

"While we looked forward to our game this weekend against Wisconsin, we understand the Badgers’ decision to cancel based on medical advice and their need to control any additional transmission of the virus within their team and staff,'' he said. "The health, well-being and safety of all student-athletes, coaches and staff remains the top priority for the entire Big Ten and will continue to guide decision-making.''

The No. 10 Badgers are scheduled to play No. 23 Michigan on Saturday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m. The team has played just one game this season, which was a 45-7 victory over Illinois.

Here is the updated Week 3 Big Ten schedule. It's likely that there will be a TV swap of networks in that 3:30 window. We'll update it as soon as we can:

Michigan at Indiana

GAMETIME: Noon ET
TV: FOX Sports 1
RECORDS: Michigan (1-1); Indiana (2-0)
LAST WEEK: Michigan lost to Michigan State 27-24; Indiana beat Rutgers 37-21.
OPENING LINE: Michigan by 3.5 points
TUESDAY LINE: Still Michigan by 3.5
THE SKINNY: Michigan has been hard to figure, looking great in the rout at Minnesota in the opener but then losing outright to Michigan State as a three-touchdown favorite on Saturday. Indiana is 2-0 and the darlings of college football these days, being ranked No. 13 in both polls. History is winning out on the early point spread, however, because the Hoosiers haven't beaten the Wolverines since 1987.

Nebraska at Northwestern

GAMETIME: Noon ET
TV: Big Ten Network
RECORDS: Nebraska (0-1); Northwestern (2-0)
LAST WEEK: Nebraska did not play, Northwestern beat Iowa 21-20.
OPENING LINE: Northwestern by 3.5 points
TUESDAY LINE: Still Northwestern by 3.5
THE SKINNY: The Wildcats are off to a nice start behind Indiana grad transfer quarterback Peyton Ramsey, and nearly cracked the Associated Press top-25 poll this week, missing by a spot. They've won and covered twice, including last week as a small underdog at Iowa. Nebraska did not play last week because of Wisconsin's COVIID-19 issues, and lost its opener 52-17 at Ohio State.

Michigan State at Iowa

GAMETIME: Noon ET
TV: ESPN
RECORDS: Michigan State (1-1); Iowa (0-2)
LAST WEEK: Michigan State beat Michigan 27-24; Iowa lost to Northwestern 21-20.
OPENING LINE: Iowa by 6.5 points
TUESDAY LINE: Still Iowa by 6.5
THE SKINNY: The Spartans have been the hardest Big Ten team to figure out thus far, losing the opener to Rutgers as a 12.5-point favorite, and then winning outright at Michigan as a 22-point underdog last week. That's been stunning, but Iowa's deal thus far has been disappointing. The Hawkeyes are 0-2 despite being slight favorites to both Purdue and Iowa. This will be a tough one to figure.

Purdue at Wisconsin

GAMETIME: CANCELED ON TUESDAY
TV: ABC
RECORDS: Purdue (2-0); Wisconsin (1-0)
LAST WEEK: Purdue beat Illinois 31-24; Wisconsin did not play.
OPENING LINE: Wisconsin by 8.5 points, NOW OFF BOARD
THE SKINNY: Wisconsin announced on Tuesday that because of more positive COVID-19 tests that they would not be able to play on Saturday. Their program remains paused, so now their entire season could be at risk because the Big Ten originally said that a team had to play at least six games to be eligible for the conference championship game. Wisconsin has only five remaining games scheduled.

Maryland at Penn State

GAMETIME: 3:30 p.m. ET
TV: Big Ten Network
RECORDS: Maryland (1-1); Penn State (0-2)
LAST WEEK: Maryland beat Minnesota 45-44 in OT; Penn State lost to Ohio State 38-25.
OPENING LINE: Penn State by 25.5 points
TUESDAY LINE: Penn State by 24.5
THE SKINNY: Maryland didn't mind being heavy underdogs last week, winning outright at home over Michigan despite being 19-point underdogs. Penn State drew the short straw, starting against Indiana and Ohio State, with two losses and two non-covers, including one as a 6-point favorite in the season-opening loss to Indiana. Penn State beat Maryland 59-0 a year ago and won 38-3 and 66-3 the previous two years.

Minnesota at Illinois

GAMETIME: 3:30 p.m. ET
TV: Big Ten Network
RECORDS: Minnesota (0-2); Illinois (0-2)
LAST WEEK: Minnesota lost to Maryland 45-44 in OT; Illinois lost to Purdue 31-24.
OPENING LINE: Minnesota by 9.5 points
TUESDAY LINE: Minnesota by 7.5
THE SKINNY: Minnesota has been the league's biggest disappointment so far, losing big as a small underdog at home in the opener with Michigan and then getting beat as a heavy favorite on Friday night at Maryland. Illinois missed 14 players last week because of COVID protocols and lost to Purdue, but covered late with two fourth-quarter touchdowns after falling behind by 21 points. The Illini were routed in the opener at Wisconsin, getting trounced 45-7. These are the two bottom teams in my Big Ten power rankings this week

Rutgers at Ohio State

GAMETIME: 7;30 p.m. ET
TV: Big Ten Network
RECORDS: Rutgers (1-1); Ohio State (2-0)
LAST WEEK: Rutgers lost to Indiana 37-21; Ohio State beat Penn State 38-25
OPENING LINE: Ohio State by 37.5 points
TUESDAY LINE: Still Ohio State by 37.5
THE SKINNY: The No. 3-ranked Buckeyes have won and covered (barely) in their two opening wins thus far, and are huge favorites against Rutgers. The 37.5 points is the highest line in a Big Ten game so far this season. Rutgers is much improved, but has really struggled with Ohio State since joining the Big Ten East. getting outscored 327-48 in six meetings. That's a 54-8 average, and a 46-point margin of victory.

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