No. 12 Indiana vs. Purdue Cancelled by Coronavirus Outbreak
The Ohio State-Michigan game isn't the only Big Ten rivalry that has been cancelled this week.
Indiana and Purdue jointly announced on Wednesday afternoon that they've mutually agreed not to play this weekend after both teams paused team activities yesterday because of rising cases within their programs.
This will be the first time since 1918 season that the two teams haven't played. They have competed for the Old Oaken Bucket every year since 1925. This year's game was supposed to be in Bloomington.
Indiana finishes the regular season with a 6-1 record. They're currently ranked No. 8 in the AP Poll and No. 12 in the College Football Playoff Rankings.
Here is the full press release from Indiana on the cancellation:
Indiana and Purdue have mutually agreed to cancel Saturday's scheduled football game at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington due to rising COVID-19 numbers at both schools.
"We're certainly disappointed that we had to cancel the Old Oaken Bucket game. We both understand the history and tradition of one of the best rivalries in college football, but the safety and well-being of our student-athletes, coaches and staff is our primary priority. We will continue to monitor the situation on both campuses and listen to the advice of our medical professionals." - Joint statement from Indiana Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Purdue Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Mike Bobinski
Big Ten's Decision to Amend 6-Game Rule Was the Only Logical Outcome
The Buckeyes beat Indiana 42-35 back on November 21 at Ohio Stadium. The Buckeyes are going to play for the Big Ten championship game, thanks to a rule change implemented by the conference on Wednesday.
The Big Ten has not yet announced how next week's divisional crossover games will proceed, other than for the conference championship. Theoretically, Purdue and Indiana could play next week, but that's very unlikely. The original idea was to play games in which the teams in each division that finished in the same position played each other: 2-vs-2, 3-vs-3, etc.
The Hoosiers and Boilermakers do not match each other in the standings, but considering the league changed a rule today that put Ohio State into the title game, I suppose it's possible the Big Ten could alter the original plan for the rest of the conference..
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