We all knew the 2020 college football season was going to be different due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but maybe not this crazy. We’ve seen some massive upsets, some bizarre finishes, and a whole lot of craziness all around.
The power structure is much more balanced, and every week there’s a chance the best guys will not play. Today we’ll be breaking down a few of the biggest takeaways from this past weekend’s action:
While these teams would have played each other regardless of COVID-19, it is now clear that this would be a matchup we would look forward to every year. The problem is that the Irish are normally an independent, so they can play the schedule they want. They made an exception to join the ACC this season, otherwise they would not have enough opponents to play a season.
Let’s just say somehow that the Irish join the ACC as a full-time member (in football) going forward. I believe this would immediately make the ACC a much more competitive conference. It would also mean they would get the chance at an ACC title every year. Plus, if they were playing Clemson every year, it may help them with recruiting. In this scenario, the Irish could still play non-conference games like Michigan or USC to keep those rivalries.
A few years ago Hugh Freeze was involved in a scandal at Ole Miss, which forced him to step down. He took a few years off and then emerged as the Liberty Flames’ head coach. Obviously, Liberty is a very small program, but he is starting to make himself and his team known throughout the country. Not only has Freeze led the Flames to a 7-0 record this season, but they just beat Virginia Tech as a 17.5-point underdog. The Hokies are not necessarily a great team, but it was a notable win against a tough ACC opponent. If this continues, I would expect Freeze to start gaining the attention of some bigger programs. There will likely be plenty of schools needing a coach by this offseason, so I look for Freeze to be at the top of their list very soon.
A few weeks ago when the Big Ten kicked off, the Wisconsin Badgers opened their season with a 45-7 win against Illinois. From their play that night, it looked as if they could be a legit threat to the Ohio State Buckeyes. The next week, Wisconsin had a COVID-19 outbreak amongst their program, cancelling their game against Nebraska. The same happened this past week, as the Badgers could not play against Purdue. This is a huge problem because of the protocol set by the Big Ten. Unlike other conferences, the Big Ten does not have the luxury of rescheduling games. They just cancel them completely. In a season where they were only scheduled to play six games, the Badgers are going to have five games at most.
Let’s just say the Badgers get to play their final three games (Michigan, Northwestern, and Minnesota). They win all of them convincingly and manage to make it to the Big Ten championship against Ohio State. They then miraculously beat the Buckeyes to win the Big Ten. The Badgers would be 5-0. Even if all that were to happen, there is no way the committee can consider them for a playoff spot — especially when there are teams playing nine or 10 games. This would be an unfortunate situation for the Badgers’ program, but it is a storyline to consider if they continue to have games cancelled.
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