For the forseeable future, the game we love is going to get a temporary makeover, at least for 2020. The pandemic that has flipped our lives upside down has affected everything, including sports. You can’t hide from it and it’s not going away anytime soon. However, we can adapt, and college football is doing just that.
Last week, the Ivy League conference announced that all fall sports have been canceled for 2020. Normally when it pertains to college football, the Ivy League is not a hot topic of conversation. However, given the current circumstances of the pandemic, everyone in college football took notice. Just a few days after the Ivy Leagues decision, the B1G conference announced that they will not play non-conference games this Fall. The conference is the first to do it so far, but we know this will cause a domino effect in college football.
Update– It has caused a domino effect! The Pac-12 is going to a conference only schedule for 2020. Look for rest of the power 5 to do the same.. That is huge because other schools that were set to play schools in this league will have to shuffle asap and make decisions that will change their schedule for 2020 and beyond.
So what about our Independents like Notre Dame, Army, and BYU? Well, Notre Dame is fortunate that they have an agreement with the ACC, they should be fine. The schools at West Point and Provo, they might have a grimmer outlook. I believe you will see both schools try to schedule teams that they don’t really want to play or they won’t play at all. They will probably have to join a conference but that won’t help them this season.
So what does all this mean?
Honestly, I’m not sure. It’s really too soon to say because if the country gets another big wave of cases from now until kickoff, we might not even have a season, which would be unprecedented.
We still have a lot of unknowns with COVID-19, and until there is a legitimate vaccine, you’re going to continue to see people wearing masks and using social distance..basically, all the guidelines that are recommended by the CDC. Now, implement that into college football- don’t you see how that is such a headache for coaches, players, and staff? Not only do they have to prep for the game, but they will now have this whole new guideline to adhere too. It’s a big headache, but it’s our current reality.
So, here is the million dollar question– Will we have college football this season? I want to say yes, I really do. With all my heart, I want the season to happen! If you know me, you know I live and breathe this sport. At the same time, I’m a realist, and if we keep seeing surges, I doubt we will. I pray I’m wrong.
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