THE Game In September? Anything Is Possible In 2020

With the Big Ten announcement July 9 the conference would only play league games in 2020, there is a possibility THE Game could be played in September or October.

Among the hullabaloo of the July 9 announcement by the Big Ten that its 14 institutions would only play conference contests in 2020, many questions were raised about what the schedules for each program would look like. Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren has yet to address specifics - will there be nine or 10 games (or more or less)? - but one subplot appears to be the likelihood that the conference will front load division games. 

Michigan's first Big Ten contest is Sept. 26 at home against Wisconsin but now that Sept. 5, Sept. 12 and Sept. 19 are all in play with the cancelation of non-conference contests, it is assumed U-M (and the rest of the Big Ten) will begin playing league games immediately. 

If, as ESPN's Adam Rittenberg suggest, the conference moves to play as many division games as possible in the first half of the college season, it is certainly possible that Michigan's final three games of the 2020 campaign - at Rutgers, home to Indiana and at Ohio State - become the Wolverines' first three games instead, dropping THE Game into mid-September. 

Over the last 70 years, the earliest the Michigan-Ohio State matchup has taken place is Nov. 17 (three times, most recently in 2007) so an a mid-September meeting would be a significant break from tradition, however, this is no ordinary year, and with the threat of COVID-19 bringing the college football season to a premature finish (or canceling it outright), extreme measures must be taken. 

It is certainly possible the Big Ten could schedule both Michigan and Ohio State to play five division games in September and October before meeting in the sixth Big East matchup for each school - an homage to the rivals playing the last weekend of the regular season - but two different sources Wolverine Digest spoke to believes THE Game will occur much sooner to make sure it gets played.

"I don't think it will be Week 1, but it wouldn't surprise me if it's Week 2 or Week 3," a source said. "If we lose the second half of the season, the conference won't want its biggest ratings and TV game sitting there in no-man's land where it doesn't get played. That would be a disaster."

With that in mind, don't be surprised if the Big Ten also front loads all of its rivalry games and big-name matchups in September/early October. That could mean Michigan plays Michigan State, Penn State and Ohio State over the course of four weekends. 

While that would be unusual, it appears most fans are already acquiescing, willing to adapt in any capacity as long as football is played.