Maryland Game Canceled
Minutes after the story broke on Twitter, Michigan confirmed the game on Saturday is off due to a COVID outbreak in the Michigan program. Press Release:
December 2, 2020
Football Game against Maryland Canceled as Michigan Pauses Practice until Monday
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan Athletic Department announced today (Wednesday, Dec. 2) that it will be pausing football practices and that Saturday’s game against Maryland has been canceled and will not be rescheduled. This decision to pause in-person football activities was made in consultation with medical professionals and the local health department.“The decision by our medical professionals to stop practices and cancel this Saturday’s game against Maryland was made with the health, safety and welfare of the student-athletes, coaches and staff as our utmost priority,” said Warde Manuel, the Donald R. Shepherd Director of Athletics.
“We have seen an increase in the number of student-athletes unavailable to compete due to positive tests and associated contact tracing due to our most recent antigen and PCR testing results.”Daily testing will continue and medical professionals will make a determination when to resume practice. The earliest practice can resume will be Monday, Dec. 7.
These outbreaks typically cancel at least two games so The Game now seems unlikely to happen as well. I'm off to burn my FFFF charting.
December 2nd, 2020 at 2:26 PM ^
The meek shall inherit the Earth
or something.
December 2nd, 2020 at 3:55 PM ^
PEYTON RAMSEY REVENGE GAME
December 2nd, 2020 at 2:11 PM ^
On the one hand I'm of course bummed that I won't get to watch them play, but there's also a part of me that's thinking 'good, now I can go hiking all day' and not plan around the game.
Hope all those who have contracted it are feeling fine and get through healthy.
December 2nd, 2020 at 6:45 PM ^
How have I never seen this gif? All the upvotes.
December 2nd, 2020 at 2:15 PM ^
I wish them all good health.
I won't be shy in saying It will be nice to not dread Saturday for the first time in a while.
And if this infuriates OSU nation, good riddance. Things have always landed perfectly in your favor for 20 years now and it's about time you came back to earth, even if it's only for a short while. And knowing your luck, it will only be a short while.
December 2nd, 2020 at 3:31 PM ^
Agreed.
Fuck'em!
December 2nd, 2020 at 4:53 PM ^
Gee, Michigan being overly cautious about a COVID outbreak might be as shitty as having the visiting team stand on a public sidewalk outside their bus and be checked by bomb sniffing dogs in 2004.
Fuck Ohio State.
December 2nd, 2020 at 2:16 PM ^
I'm confident OSU will still drop 60 on us somehow.
December 2nd, 2020 at 3:02 PM ^
They will...in a basketball game, wherein we will drop 85 on them.
December 2nd, 2020 at 2:16 PM ^
About time. Stay safe everyone. Shut it down for the year.
December 2nd, 2020 at 2:17 PM ^
Man, all the people thinking if the season ends earlier it means Warde can make a change earlier are sure in for a rude awakening. Better hope the NFL comes calling and Jim wants to move on.
December 2nd, 2020 at 2:18 PM ^
Took a lot of discipline and dedication to keep an airborne virus from infiltrating a locker room of 90+. Appreciate the work these players put in. Hope it isn't the last time we see some of them in a winged helmet.
December 2nd, 2020 at 2:18 PM ^
Does this mean Michigan wont lose another game this season?
December 2nd, 2020 at 2:18 PM ^
Hope the infected players have a healthy and speedy recovery.
December 2nd, 2020 at 2:20 PM ^
Wow.....another epiphany for me as to how bad this season has been. I'm happy that Michigan is not playing........wait for it.......Maryland. That's right, I'm happy that Michigan is not playing fucking Maryland. God help this program
December 2nd, 2020 at 2:23 PM ^
First: Here's hoping everyone recovers without further damage.
Evil thought: Someone in the Big Ten office looks at the viewership numbers for The Game all the time.
Then they realize that tOSU is ineligible for the championship game because they've only played five games. tOSU has to play someone during "Champions Week," but it can't be Northwestern.
Then ...
I think they're more likely to change the rules to get tOSU in the championship game than to play Michigan, but the mind reels at the possibility, no?
December 2nd, 2020 at 2:29 PM ^
It would be the least surprising thing in the universe if rules were changed to benefit OSU. I expect it. That's why you have to enjoy the pain they're feeling now. Because it will be extremely short lived.
I say this as a fan who grew up seeing us lose to OSU just 3 times between the ages of 5 and 21. So you can see how extra horrible it is for me to feel this way and accept the reality of where these two fanbases currently are.
December 2nd, 2020 at 3:43 PM ^
Barry Alvarez said in an interview that the conference is already discussing changes to the eligibility requirements to allow OSU to play for a conference title in the event The Game is cancelled. The wheels are already in motion
December 2nd, 2020 at 3:54 PM ^
Well, there you go. This will be record time. If at first you don't succeed, change the rules until you win.
December 2nd, 2020 at 5:00 PM ^
Indiana needs to go on the warpath to stop this.
December 2nd, 2020 at 2:26 PM ^
To hell with Herbstreit for using his national TV presence for essentially trying to goad Michigan into playing. By using inflammatory language like "waving the white flag", his intent is perfectly clear. The backlash from it pushed him into a lame-ass apology. Lots of talking heads on Sparty-heavy 97.1 are taking Herbstreit's side, of course, to rile up Michigan-fan listeners.
True colors for Herbstreit. What a classless move.
December 2nd, 2020 at 2:42 PM ^
He prolly did it for clicks and to get OSU cooler defecators back on his side.
December 2nd, 2020 at 3:34 PM ^
It wasn't the first time he passively aggressively tried to screw us. I am not an apologist for him like some others on the board, he knows what hell he's doing, he's not an idiot.
December 2nd, 2020 at 2:29 PM ^
“The decision by our medical professionals to stop practices and cancel this Saturday’s game against Maryland was made with the health, safety and welfare of the student-athletes, coaches and staff as our utmost priority, as well as the mental health and well being of our fans” said Warde Manuel, the Donald R. Shepherd Director of Athletics.
There, fixed it.
Hope for asymptomatic progression or speedy recovery for anyone that tested positive.
December 2nd, 2020 at 2:32 PM ^
This prolly means Harbaugh isn’t going to get canned. The narrative that this season is an anomaly isn’t the hardest thing to sell internally. Give him a 2 year extension and slash his buy out and bunker down for more mediocrity.
December 2nd, 2020 at 2:46 PM ^
I don't think you're wrong but.....Jesus, is that depressing. Just feels like delaying the inevitable. I'd likely be willing to give Harbaugh another year or two if I felt like his heart (and his mind for that matter) were still in it. But they just aren't. Everyone can see that. Why keep dragging this out?
December 2nd, 2020 at 3:58 PM ^
I know this isn’t what people want to hear, but a coaching change impacts a ton people and comes with great costs both financially and emotionally. Directly, there are the current players and current coaches, and the recruits considering coming to a school. Indirectly, there are these people’s families, general staff in the athletic department, and other University personnel that interact with athletes. As fans, we think we factor in there, and in normal times, we do play a part because we’re what drives the financial well being of the Athletic Department. With revenues not an immediate consideration, the decision comes down to costs. The AD would be buying out Harbaugh and his assistants, and unless Stephen Ross and other big wigs are prioritizing Michigan football over their own business interests or more humanitarian philanthropic endeavors right now, it’s not a wise move if you want to continue paying the entire athletic department and all the staff who still have jobs. These are not normal times and while we all care deeply about football, there are more pressing priorities than pushing out an above average coach that is having a well below average year. It’s maddening that little will be done, even including ousting Don Brown or other assistants, but Michigan, who claims to be the Leaders and Best, will not make a significant move like firing Harbaugh right now. In the grand scheme of things, it would be really out of touch. Keeping him shows me it’s about a hell of lot more than Harbaugh!
December 2nd, 2020 at 4:15 PM ^
Firing him is the easy thing to do right now. In any normal year, it’s a no brainer. But with everything else going on, it’s not going to happen. There’s bigger fish to fry. COVID isn’t an excuse for his performance but it is the reason he’ll remain the coach.
December 2nd, 2020 at 5:00 PM ^
Let's wake up people. You mention the AD and/or wealthy alums paying top dollar for coaches...
You know what?
Michigan won't be elite until we start paying the players.
That is what the elite programs are already doing. Michigan either joins the party via the new NIL rules, or if that doesn't happen our wealthy alums need to say fuck it and start busting out the bags of Benjamins.
The NCAA is a fucking farce and I'm tired of Michigan trying to compete with both arms tied behind their back.
People say "oh but Wisconsin can do it..." Bullshit. Chryst is winless versus OSU. Wisconsin is never going to win shit. Michigan would have won the crappy West Division in 2015, 2016, and 2018. And then suddenly everyone thinks Harbaugh isn't hot garbage.
You want to win titles? Pay the damn players. This just in: Ohio State PAYS THEIR PLAYERS.
And the most frustrating part of this whole thing is that Michigan might have the world's biggest money cannon and yet refuses to shoot it.
It's like that line from the movie Swingers where Vince Vaughn says:
"...you got these claws and you're staring at these claws and you're thinking to yourself, and with these claws you're thinking, "How am I supposed to kill this bunny, how am I supposed to kill this bunny?"
It's time.
December 2nd, 2020 at 2:36 PM ^
Still sad, despite 2-4
December 2nd, 2020 at 2:39 PM ^
Please stay away from the basketball program. Please stay away from the basketball program. Please stay away from the basketball program.
December 2nd, 2020 at 2:44 PM ^
"Well, the team may suck but at least Harbaugh's done a good job managing COVID!"
December 2nd, 2020 at 2:49 PM ^
I haven't read through the entire thread, but I'm wondering about 2021 scheduling. It would be great to have two things happen:
- To have next OSU game in AA.
- To have OSU and MSU opposite years.
I'll read through entire thread later, but I hope that is what will happen.
December 2nd, 2020 at 2:49 PM ^
I haven't read through the entire thread, but I'm wondering about 2021 scheduling. It would be great to have two things happen:
- To have next OSU game in AA.
- To have OSU and MSU opposite years.
I'll read through entire thread later, but I hope that is what will happen.
December 2nd, 2020 at 2:55 PM ^
The sadist in me was legitimately interested to see how many points OSU was going to put up on us.
December 2nd, 2020 at 2:58 PM ^
Calling it now: if OSU plays this weekend and Michigan cancels The Game, OSU will be granted an exception to play an OOC opponent to qualify for the conf championship game.
I guess other fans are suggesting running it back with Nebraska since Minnesota might cancel too.
December 2nd, 2020 at 3:20 PM ^
Agreed!
December 2nd, 2020 at 4:23 PM ^
Agreed. The B1G will do whatever it has to do get even a 4-0 OSU to the CFP. None of the other teams in the conference would get the same treatment, that’s for sure.
December 2nd, 2020 at 3:04 PM ^
This season has been a complete and utter farce, and that's completely independent of the fact that our team isn't doing nearly as well as we wanted or expected.
It's supposed to be an 8-game season. 8 of the 14 teams have already missed at least one game, and it'll be at least 9 by the end of the day on Saturday. Wisconsin's only been able to play half their games. Hard to feel like anything but a glorified series of scrimmages.
December 2nd, 2020 at 3:06 PM ^
Disappointed but not surprised.
December 2nd, 2020 at 3:07 PM ^
Herbie was right all along :)
December 2nd, 2020 at 3:11 PM ^
I was fully expecting a 100-3 hamblasting in the game, and I am still sad this is going down. The game was a tradition, but obviously there are more important things. I'm happy we still got some football, I'm happy we won the jug and got to play for Paulie B. Not that M is in any of these discussions, but the Big Ten should name co-champs like in the old days. There probably shouldn't be a playoff, but at least we got a few Saturdays where we could watch football on TV. It was weird. It's a weird year. I didn't expect any of it. I'm sad, but I feel lucky for what we got.
...
Ok, also, Fire Harbaugh and all that jazz
December 2nd, 2020 at 3:24 PM ^
Do you mean tradition like watching the Lions lose every Thanksgiving Day?
We'll probably still get pressured into the game, and will still lose 100-3. How we get close enough for the three or four field goal attempts required to score three points with two broken quarterbacks, much less a single first down is beyond me.
December 2nd, 2020 at 3:15 PM ^
Get well to all infected players/staff/coaches. Anyone know how many cases there were on the team?
December 2nd, 2020 at 3:24 PM ^
One more to go!!!
December 2nd, 2020 at 3:27 PM ^
really tired of the "thank god we don't play ohio state this year" crap.
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