ATLANTA — Full disclosure: I doubted there would be college football in 2020. Wrong again. The ACC has slogged through more than two months, the SEC through seven weeks. So far as we know, there has been no documented case of the virus being spread, player-to-player or team-to-team, during a game. That's an accomplishment. But it's November and the weather has turned colder, and we were reminded this week that, as much as we've tried to run from COVID-19, we can't quite hide.
The SEC postponed four of its seven weekend games. The Big Ten canceled Ohio State-Maryland. Fifty hours before kickoff, the ACC announced that Pittsburgh's game at Georgia Tech had been postponed until Dec. 12. Among FBS schools, 15 games that were supposed to be staged Saturday were scrubbed.
The Big Ten — which decided not to play football until deciding that it would — has seen two Wisconsin games canceled, as opposed to postponed. A third cancellation could leave the Badgers, favorites to win the Big Ten West, ineligible for the conference title.
The Pac-12, which also reversed a decision not to play, waited until last weekend to get going. Two of its six opening games were canceled. Two more were canceled in what was supposed to be Week 2. Utah, which played for the league title last year, has seen its "regular season" chopped to four games. As of Friday morning, Cal was scheduled to play Arizona State on Saturday. That game was canceled. The Bears are now set to face UCLA Sunday.
On Thursday, Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby told SiriusXM Radio there has been discussion about pushing back the College Football Playoff and the New Year's Six bowls. Said Bowlsby: "I don't know if I see us playing a championship game in February, but you just never know. These are unusual times, and things that might not otherwise be acceptable have to be considered in this kind of circumstance."
