I started thinking about this earlier today. The virus may determine some game outcomes. Suppose a star player tests positive, and the protocol requires that he self-quarantine for 14 days. Las Vegas will be paying close attention to such things, and so will coaches on both sides.
That is why I can see the season being cancelled or postponed until next spring. If there is an outbreak of say 14 players on USC, are they going to lobby to cancel the upcoming games? If one influential program has to sit a bunch of starters, that might be enough to just cancel. If the NBA does it then college football will.
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This is all why I still have a really hard time seeing this season actually happening.
There’s no possible way we’ve seen the end of all this by Sept 1.
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If USC loses 14 starters, they still have more four or five-star players than we do. So, game ON
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If the infection trends are the same as they are now by August 10, the season will be cancelled. If the schools can’t agree on the “opening protocols” the season will be cancelled.
Honestly booting it to the spring might not be a bad idea. Have a 16-team playoff, and life just got better.
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If I’m being honest, it wouldn’t bother me if the season is cancelled. Not because I don’t want to watch my beloved Utes but because I think the Rona will come on strong next fall. I will probably just try to sell my tickets this next season and catch the games on TV.
I hope I’m wrong but that’s how I see it going.
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About an hour ago I received a survey from the Athletics Department about fans’ views on returning to RES. Here are a couple of the pages. I personally can’t see sitting in a stadium with 45,000 people until there’s a vaccine.
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I hope we remember the event is mostly in the open outside. Food lines can be eliminated by allowing food and drinks into the stadium like we once did. Bathroom lines can be improved with a great number of porta johns. Both should be closed and cleaned often throughout the games. As for seating, every other row closed and an empty seat on rows between family groups works. Moving games to daylight hours helps, mornings are better than evenings to maximize the presence of UV light. I think we could play all games mid day and delay broadcast some games. We could find more viewers than was previously thought possible for tape delay in this covid situation. If your access to your team becomes a delayed TV broadcast, I think a great number will take that over skip out on the season. Not all ticket holders will agree so maybe a program should be used to preserve their seats for other seasons while allowing others that chose to fill in with less than ideal circumstances.
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Daylight hour games means that the East coast writers actually have to pay attention to the Utes.
It’s always astounding how every weekend I pick up the New York times after some remarkable game that we played or some decisive level-raising ante which the Utes accomplished and the only thing in New York times is, you know Boston College beats Rutgers…
Thanks for thinking outside the box. I’m somewhat encouraged.
this is certainly going to be tricky
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Looks like Chip is finding life tougher without Uncle Phil’s backing.
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Clemson just had 23 players test positive. Chances of a season actually happening are looking slimmer and slimmer.
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Yep. Given the Clemson tests and the overall increases of positives in the country, I think the season is a goner.
I’m very sad about that.
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Kansas State workouts shut down after 14 test positive.
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And now 30 LSU players in quarantine.
No freaking chance of a season.
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There are hundreds of college athletes with covid-19 right now. These cases will hopefully give us more evidence that the disease is not particularly troublesome for this demographic.
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It’s not the athletes I’m concerned about. I’m sure those specimens of peak athletic prowess will weather it just fine.
I’m far more worried about who they could then be spreading it to.
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