Report: Virginia Tech Will Not Play Penn State This Fall
College Football is becoming less-and-less likely this fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as schools and conferences continue to make scheduling decisions that impact the likelihood of football being played.
On Wednesday alone, the Ivy League postponed all fall sports indefinitely. Meanwhile, North Carolina and Ohio State both suspended voluntary workouts for student-athletes following positive Coronavirus tests that were conducted across the schools' athletic departments.
On Thursday afternoon, the hits kept on coming. Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic reported on Twitter that the Big Ten is planning to cancel all non-conference football games this fall.
This is the first major scheduling change to take place at the FBS level, and other conferences will likely follow suit.
This scheduling change instituted by the Big Ten means that Virginia Tech's September 12th home game against Penn State will be canceled.
By doing this, college football season is guaranteed to start no earlier than the end of September, when conference play theoretically begins across the country.
What is more likely, however, is that college football will not be played in any capacity this fall. It is clear that major college football conferences want to delay what is potentially inevitable, for as long as possible. Canceling non-conference games buys the NCAA another month to try to make college football, even with a shortened season, a reality.
With so much money on the line for athletic departments across the country, it is in everyone's best interest from an economics standpoint to try to find a way for college football to happen.
However, the safety of student-athletes, coaches, and support staffers across the country is of utmost importance, and is undoubtedly leading the decision making of athletic departments.
If there is a safe way to play college football this fall, the games will go on.
Thursday's news however, makes that dream much less likely to become a reality.
