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— Gene Ross (@Gene_Ross23) August 11, 2020
The six stages of grief are:
- Denial
- Anger
- Bargaining
- Depression
- Acceptance
After it was announced that the Big Ten was canceling its fall sports season, I’m pretty sure the majority of the Ohio State fan base skipped the denial stage and went straight to anger (and rightfully so). However, based on my reaction when I saw this tweet...
Ryan Day does not completely shut the door on playing this fall: "That's a fluid situation. I know Gene and I talked again this morning at length about this."
— Colin Hass-Hill (@chasshill) August 12, 2020
He says "we are looking at everything."
I’m 99% sure I’m still in the denial stage. I saw the words “fluid situation” and my brain was like “WE’RE PLAYING THIS FALL.” I’m sure I’m not the only one, because the thought of there being ZERO Ohio State football games is too huge of a concept to grasp. Look, I know that the writing was on the wall when it was LATE JULY and we STILL hadn’t heard a peep from the NCAA/Big Ten. Deep down, I knew it was a possibility. But now that it’s actually happened... I literally can’t believe it.
I will let you know once I reach the anger stage. Please wait for me there so that we can all yell together. It won’t take long, considering Gene Smith just released this statement Wednesday evening:
State from Gene Smith re: fall football options.
— billlandis25 (@BillLandis25) August 12, 2020
Ohio State “has now determined that this would not be an allowable opportunity for us to move toward.” pic.twitter.com/mxbRZdalEN
There you have it. No fall season for Ohio State.
In case you missed the catastrophe that was Tuesday, Aug. 11., we’ve got you covered.
From Land-Grant Holy Land...
Breaking: Big Ten officially cancels fall 2020 football season
Matt Tamanini, LGHL
Matt has the deets.
It turns out Ohio State’s biggest opposition in 2020 wasn’t Clemson, but a failure of leadership
Gene Ross, LGHL
Gene has the tea.
Column: Everyone needs to learn from their mistakes if we want a college basketball season
Connor Lemons, LGHL
And Connor has the solution.
Impact of Tunmise Adeleye’s decommitment from Ohio State
Gene Ross, LGHL
Just what we all needed! A de-commitment from a top-30 player!
From around the gridiron...
Ryan Day met with the media on Wednesday to discuss the cancellation, how his players are handling it, his thoughts on playing in the spring and how Ohio State plans to move forward. You can read the majority of the interview here, but these were the big takeaways:
Ryan Day: “This team is special. It's special because of the leadership, it's special because of the character ... it could have been a once-in-a-lifetime team ... there was just something about this team that had it. They had it.”
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) August 12, 2020
“They had it.”
Day even proposed a plan for a potential spring season—a plan that is better than anything I’ve heard come out of the Big Ten’s mouth. And it only took him 24 hours to conjure up!
Ryan Day said he thinks a potential spring season needs to start as soon as possible. “I think the first week of January would be the best way to go.” Said he'd propose an 8-game season so there's enough separation between the spring and fall.
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) August 12, 2020
Sure, there’s a lot to hash out (i.e. locations, the 2021 recruiting class, etc.) but last time I checked, that’s what the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the schools’ conference is for. Right? Or did I get that wrong?
Oh, and this is for those of you worried about players transferring:
Ryan Day knows schools from conferences that are still trying to play this fall will reach out to his players, but he doesn't expect them to transfer. Doesn't think it would be smart for players to make that move right now.
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) August 12, 2020
Instead, Day said they “woke up this morning with a focus on what’s next, and that’s really the spring.” So, volunteer workouts shall commence on Thursday, and on-field workouts will start back up in September.
Ryan Day said he thinks teams should be allowed to hold padded practices in the fall if they have the protocols in place to keep players safe. Thinks it's really important for young players to start to have the opportunity to get on the field and develop.
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) August 12, 2020
Ryan Day: a man with constructive solutions, a love for his student-athletes, and a passion for the game. I’d even go so far as to say, if he was running the Big Ten, we’d be gearing up for Game 1 in September.
Ryan Day on whether he thinks the Big Ten will listen to his suggestions made today: “I know that I'm gonna fight like heck for these guys, and I feel pretty strongly about what I've said.”
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) August 12, 2020
But alas, this is what we’re dealing with instead:
"There's been nothing that's come from the Big Ten about moving forward." -- Ryan Day, 12:17pm Wednesday August 12.
— Tony Gerdeman (@TonyGerdeman) August 12, 2020
Zack Carpenter, Eleven Warriors
In case you want to twist the knife, here’s over twenty photos of heart-broken players and coaches leaving the football facility after receiving the news.
Tim Bielik, cleveland.com
Just about every single Ohio State player and coach—former and current— took to Twitter to express their disappointment in the Big Ten and the NCAA. Tim rounded most of them up for you, but here’s the one that hurt the most:
To our student-athletes:
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) August 11, 2020
We respect you.
We will always fight for you.
We will be back.#GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/0EEyI2eDM2
:’)
If television, Big Ten contracts are real issue, Ohio State could keep fighting
Austin Ward, Lettermen Row
It’s not entirely impossible that the conference cancelled its season for reasons revolving around television contracts, conference membership and $$$$. Teams know this, which is why you see Nebraska sincerely threatening to leave the Big Ten and play games elsewhere.
But at the end of the day, it’s Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State with all the leverage. The Big Ten literally cannot afford to lose Ohio State, and as Austin writes, the school should use that leverage and keep fighting.
Big Ten cancellation leaves huge recruiting questions, no answers
Birm, Lettermen Row
One of the biggest concerns across the Ohio State fanbase is how all of this will affect the future of the program (aka recruiting). How can coaches evaluate prospects if in-person recruiting remains suspended? If there’s no tangible return-to-play plan, how will signing periods work for Ohio State and others? How do schools honor every current scholarship and still add new classes?
Thanks a lot, NCAA: A bubble could have saved college football
Chris Hummer, Bucknuts
And you had six months to figure it out!
From everywhere else...
No fans will be in attendance to watch Chase Young’s NFL debut.
Washington Football Team announces there will be no fans at home games in 2020.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 12, 2020
This does not surprise me in the least.
Jerry Jones says fans will be at Cowboys games this season.
— Sporting News (@sportingnews) August 12, 2020
He claims the structure of AT&T Stadium will help mitigate the spread of COVID-19, citing the venue's "naturally built airflow." https://t.co/C7TjkdnH1c
What could possibly go wrong?
The NBA has introduced new guest rules for The Bubble:
— Sporting News (@sportingnews) August 12, 2020
• Four guests per player, plus children
• Each player is allowed one ticket per playoff game for a guest, plus an extra ticket for a child shorter than 32 inches, per @wojespn
Will this go well? https://t.co/5Oxk4js0fA