Will Michigan Play Football Before November?

It's starting to feel like the Big Ten is going to play sooner rather than later, but how confident are we?

The Big Ten postponed the season on August 11 and left everybody wondering when we're going to see football again. Initially no one was sure why the conference even cancelled the season, but eventually it came out that the school presidents voted 11-3 in favor of pulling the plug.

Since then, rumors have been floating around that the Big Ten is going to revote because of the backlash, how football is being played at different levels all over the country and because of the basic need for football. Is a vote happening today? Tomorrow? At all? No one really seems to know, but one thing is certain, the Big Ten is feeling the pressure.

If a revote does happen, how soon can the teams get on the field? Will we see Michigan on the field before the calendar rolls over to November? We discuss...

Brandon Brown

I think Michigan will play before the calendar says November. There has been so much pushback from players, coaches, parents, the media and even the President of the United States. The Big Ten has taken a massive PR hit over all of this and it just doesn't seem to make any sense given the fact that 37 states are playing high school football, dozens of other college programs are getting going and in a week the NFL will be a full go as well. How is it possible that all of those players and teams can get it going on the gridiron but no one in the Big Ten can? That's a question no one in power really has an answer for right now.

If the Big Ten waits too long the whole season will just feel like a lost cause. It'll be too late to really be a part of anything meaningful and weather certainly starts to be an issue as well. I also think starting in January just creates a laundry list of problems. The most logical thing to do is to launch ASAP. Give teams a start date and a schedule and get it all going. Cases are likely going to pop up, but they already are anyways. If that happens, adjust and handle it at that time. 

Cancelling altogether while so many other teams are playing is just the wrong move.

Steve Deace

I believe they will play before November, because the political heat is overwhelming and only growing. There is an open revolt occurring within the league for starters, and then the external pressures are only mounting. Such as:

• How can Central Arkansas pull off two college football games but the mighty Big Ten cannot a single one?
• The discovery transparency that awaits in a Nebraska court, and the likely PR disaster that goes along with it.
• The revelation that Thursday's latest attempt to inflate the myocarditis threat -- which apparently only dangerously threatens athletes in the Big Ten and nowhere else or in any other college/pro sport currently going -- was a complete and total fraud.
• Michigan is the latest state in the Big Ten footprint to sign off on high school football, which further isolates the Big Ten by begging the question why pros and preps can play but they cannot.
• Now even media outlets such as ESPN, which had been at least somewhat friendly to the caution narrative, have high-profile personalities openly mocking the league.

Furthermore, it makes no sense to start in November. You'll be just ramping up while the rest of the sport is reaching its pinnacle month. You'll relegate yourself, like in European soccer, to also-ran status. Branding the granddaddy of all conferences as a B-league. This would just bring more shame and mockery on the league when you're playing Illinois-Rutgers while championships are being decided elsewhere. The blasts will write themselves. Not to mention your teams and your players are still left out of the sport's big prizes. 

At least in January you'd have a captive audience. 

For these reasons, I believe after a week or two of seeing college and pro football successfully pull it off, you will see the Big Ten ramp up for an October start.

Eric Rutter

Throughout the whole COVID-19 situation, the future of the 2020 football season has taken a ton of dips, twists and turns. Important data regarding the coronavirus and myocarditis is slow to leak out, and those in charge are often making reactionary decisions that can reflect the past more than the present or the future. That said, with a situation as fluid as this, it is difficult not to go with whatever the current prevailing thought process is. At the moment, the Big Ten is expected to meet soon and hold another vote regarding the 2020 season. While it would make sense to check the temperature and detect that momentum is flowing in the direction of having a fall football season, several Big Ten presidents would have to reverse their previous decision, and I don't see that happening right now. If a couple presidents change course, sure, that is perfectly feasible, but in order for football to be played before November, the Big Ten needs to establish a plan-- and quickly. So, I think there are still too many hurdles to clear before playing football in October, but it seems a lot more likely right now than it did a week ago.

Jack Scheel

Typically I'm pretty optimistic about most things but with all the uncertainty and back and forth with the Big Ten Conference, as well as the disconnect between the players/coaches and administration at each university, I'm pretty pessimistic with what may happen this season. My guess is there's no way Michigan will play because of that. I hope I'm wrong but I just don't see Big Ten football happening in the fall. My suggestion, go pick your favorite team from other conferences to salvage any sense of college football fandom this year. 

Michael Spath

There is pressure on the Big Ten from every angle — players, coaches, ADs, angry parents, the media, even politicians — but I continue to hear that the university presidents/chancellors are not ready to give in to public outcry and will instead stand by their decisions. I do think there is the possibility of October football if the SEC, ACC and Big 12 play games this September with relatively few major COVID-19 issues but I suspect the Big Ten is waiting to see. If there are issues, the conference's leaders can claim victory that they did "the right thing" from the start. If there aren't, the Big Ten can vote at that time to bring football back but late October would seemingly be the earliest that could then happen. I'll say the first game of the season takes place Nov. 7.