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College Football and COVID-19: Mid-August Roundup

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This week has brought plenty of updates as to the status of the upcoming college football season amid a pandemic. Here are a few highlights.

I can barely keep up with the fast-paced news cycles in college football. The end of July was hard to process. The first two weeks of August have been equally agonizing. If it feels like a lot is going on, that’s because it is.

For reference, you can check out the late-July edition here and the early August edition here. Here’s the latest.

Rice football delays its season

Rice football was the second Conference USA program to make a significant change in their upcoming schedule. After Old Dominion canceled its season, Rice opted to delay its season, postponing games against Houston and Army in early September, tentatively planning to start their season on September 26. The Owls are looking for opportunities to reschedule both of those canceled games.

Major cancelations

At the time of this publication, 54 FBS programs have canceled their 2020 fall seasons. Many hope to play in the spring, and Purdue’s Jeff Brohm has already put together a rather complete plan as to how to make that happen.

Here are the conferences/teams who won’t’ be playing this fall:

  • MAC
  • Big Ten
  • Pac-12
  • Mountain West
  • UConn
  • UMass
  • Old Dominion
  • New Mexico State

We now have more bowl spots available than teams planning to play in the fall.

FCS calls it mostly quits, but not quite

By the time Thursday afternoon had come and gone, the last of the FCS conferences had put an end to their league schedules. Several were allowing their teams to pursue non-conference games, ostensibly in search of the payday to help stave off the remaining costs associated with the forgone season. That left a dozen or so matchups between FBS and FCS teams on the schedule, including the revised Rice football season opener vs Lamar.

NCAA cancels fall championships

With members schools dropping left and right, it seemed like only a matter of time before this went official: the NCAA has canceled fall championships. The largest caveat, and its a big one, is FBS football. That’s the only fall sport that doesn’t fall under the NCAA Championship umbrella. For the time being, a College Football Playoff is still in the cards.

Last but not least … good news?

Progress on a cheaper COVID-19 test with results in the span of a few hours could be on the horizon. For as little as $10 per person, programs could test all personnel on a regular basis and get same-day results. Accurate and rapid testing isn’t the only problem facing college football right now, but solving this issue would be huge for the sports community.

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Rice Football: Declining optimism exists for Owls delayed season

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Rice Football took a proactive step to delay the start of its 2020 season, but the future remains as uncertain as ever in the midst of the COVID-19.

On Monday afternoon, Rice football announced the delay of its 2020 season. According to the current plan, that would set the Owls up to begin their 2020 campaign at home against Lamar. The Cardinals reside in the Southland Conference, which could very well fall in line with several other FCS conferences and postpone its season to the spring, at the earliest.

All of those concerns served as a rather bleak backdrop for a conversation with Rice Athletics Director Joe Karlgaard, tasked with explaining the unexplainable and navigating the unprecedented.

“Throughout the summer and up until this point we’ve wanted to do everything that we can to give ourselves the best shot at playing college football this fall,” he said. “We feel like delaying til the end of the month puts us in that position.”

Karlgaard indicated that Rice is still very much so the ultimate decision of whether or not Rice plays football during the fall “day by day.” He went as far as to say “circumstances could change… and that could happen to us and that could happen in a moment’s notice.” Per his own admission, optimism was greater coming out of the spring than it is right now.

For the time being, the plan is for Rice to start the season on September 26 against Lamar and try to fit a home game with Army or Houston in during the Owls’ open week (October 17) or potentially at the end of the regular season, possibly on December 5.

All of those dates seem so far away today in mid-August.

Half joking, half grimly-rooted in our new reality, Karlgaard ended a zoom with local media with a thank you and a promise to keep everyone up to date, signing off with a telling quip: “that could be five minutes from now.”

Sources within the program were equally pessimistic. One put the odds of Rice playing any football this fall at a 4 out of 10. Karlgaard himself said he wasn’t sure what the future holds. In his defense, none of us do.

From a logistical standpoint, Rice is pushing all the right buttons. They’ve been careful and calculated when it comes to there response to a challenging situation. But for now, Rice football and the rest of us will continue to wait.

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College Football and COVID-19: Early August Roundup

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This week has brought plenty of updates as to the status of the upcoming college football season amid a pandemic. Here are a few highlights.

This edition of the round up comes one week removed from the previous edition, and my goodness, what can change in a week! A week ago conferences were still sorting out how many games they were going to play. There’s been some more clarity on that front, and less clarity on others. Here’s the latest.

Big 12 goes conference plus one

Following in the footsteps of the ACC, the Big 12 has opted to allow its teams to play one non-conference game. That makes sense given the league’s 10 members with less intraleague options available for scheduling purposes. They were the last Power 5 conference to announce their decision.

UConn cancels football season

UConn became the first FBS program to cancel their 2020 college football season in its entirety. The Athletic ($) reported earlier in the week that head coach Randy Edsall was going to give his players a voice in what the program was going to do this season. Days later, the school announced they would not be playing this season. The players released this joint statement:

 “As a team we are in full support of the decision to not compete in 2020.  We have many health concerns and not enough is known about the potential long term effects of contracting COVID-19. Additionally, we have not had the optimal time to train mentally & physically to be properly prepared to compete this season.  We love this game and love competing.  We came to campus in the beginning of July knowing there would be challenges presented by the pandemic but it is apparent to us now that these challenges are impossible to overcome.”

The MAC becomes first FBS conference to cancel all fall sports

Days after UConn became the first program to shut down football this fall, the MAC became the first conference to hit the pause button on the 2020 season. The league hopes to play in the spring, but deemed a fall season not feasible. Conference commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said, “This isn’t a financial decision. It’s a health & well-being decision.”

NCAA cancels DII and DII Championships

The NCAA hasn’t been at the forefront of much during this current crisis. They issued two decisions this week that seemed like more of a formality than earth-shattering news. Both DII and DII canceled fall championships this year. That comes on the heels of several conferences and additional programs announcing they would not participate this season, if it were to be played.

The rest of the Group of 5 offers varied structures

Conference USA, the American and Sun Belt will all retain their 12 game conference schedules this season. Rather, those conferences will allow their member institutions to play four non-conference games in addition to their preexisting schedule of eight conference opponents. Most teams will have to add games to reach 12 opponents following the canceled games against Power 5 teams.

The Mountain West will play eight conference games with two non-conference games.

Opt outs continue

The trickle of college football players opting out from the season is gradually picking up steam. It’s not just the quantity of players choosing to forgo the season, it’s the inclusion of big names who could see their names called early in the upcoming NFL Draft.

The most notable players to announce they would not play this week were Minnesota wide receiver Rashod Bateman, Purdue wide receiver Rondale Moore, Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons, Pitt defensive lineman Jaylen Twyman, Maryland quarterback Josh Jackson and countless others. The list will continue to grow.

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Rice Football: Potential replacements for canceled LSU game

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With the LSU game canceled, Rice Football has an open weekend on their schedule. Here are a few schools the Owls could seek out to fill the gap.

Schedules are going to look different in 2020. Rice football has lost one game to cancelation so far. Multiple conference peers are missing multiple games, and the Big 12 has yet to announce their decision. That could come after school presidents meet on Monday, but no one knows for sure at this point.

What we do know is that Rice won’t be playing LSU on September 19. That game was nixed when the SEC opted for a conference-only schedule this season. Rice athletic director Joe Karlgaard indicated he might make some calls and look into who else might be free on that date, but wasn’t in a rush to nail down a replacement game immediately with Power 5 schedules still in flux.

If Rice Football does decide to fill their open date, who should the Owls add to the schedule? Here are six picks, based on who is available and geographic fits.

South Alabama

Originally scheduled to visit the Swamp and play Florida on September 19, the Jaguars were freed up with the same SEC decision that cleared the Owls calendar. Rice and South Alabama have never met on the gridiron.

If Rice opts to go the FBS rout, this would be one of the more manageable drives. The two campuses are a seven-hour bus ride apart. South Alabama just constructed brand new Hancock Whitney Stadium which is expected to open for the first time this fall. If Rice were to make the road trip, a closer destination and brand new facilities would be an optimal fit.

Troy

Rice and Troy have only met on the football field once. The Trojans defeated the Owls in the New Orleans Bowl in 2006. Troy was meant to host NC State on September 19th. The ACC’s ruling allowed for each school to play one non-conference game, but specified it must take place in the state of the ACC school. Unless Troy wants to fly to North Carolina, this game is likely to get the axe.

It takes a little more than nine hours to drive between Rice and Troy campuses. That’s probably pushing the limits on a day trip, but it’s probably still doable given the circumstances.

Arkansas State

The Red Wolves won’t be making their previously scheduled trip to Ann Arbor to take on the Michigan Wolverines on September 19th, opening things up for a potential pairing with Rice. These two schools have never met despite playing in bordering states.

Jonesboro, AR is roughly nine hours away from Houston, putting it on the fringe of driving distance along with Troy.

Charlotte

Charlotte would be an unconventional pick, and the 49ers might not be free on that date just yet. They were scheduled to play Duke on Septemeber 17th, which would still be allowed to happen under the ACC’s same-state non-conference guidance. Duke is also scheduled to host Middle Tennessee, meaning at least one of those C-USA schools won’t be playing in Durham this season.

Rice could opt to play Charlotte in a non-conference game. Wake Forest and North Carolina did something similar last fall. Staying in C-USA would (theoretically) ensure alignment on health and safety procedures. Rice beat Charlotte in their only two meetings to date, defeating the 49ers in 2015 and 2016.

BYU

If Rice looks a bit further than driving distance, their options increase significantly. The first place to start might be the schools most in need of makeup games. BYU has lost three games so far, with contests against Michigan State (Sept. 12), Arizona State (Sept. 19), Minnesota (Sept. 26) and Missouri (Oct. 10) all canceled.

Rice could slide into what has now become a wide open stretch of weekends for BYU. Future scheduling might come into play if this game can be agreed upon. Rice is scheduled to play in Provo in 2023 with BYU making the return trip in 2025. Rice is 1-1 against BYU.

Boise State

Boise State was supposed to be playing the second half of a home-and-home series with Florida State. Last year’s matchup was adjusted to avoid a hurricane. This year’s matchup could fall away should Florida State choose to go a different direction for their one allotted non-conference game.

Boise State is 1-1 with Rice. The two teams have a series on the books right now, but it doesn’t start until 2027 when the Broncos are scheduled to visit Houston. Rice would return to Boise in 2029. The Owls don’t have an open non-conference data free until 2024, but securing additional future games with a premier Group of 5 opponent would be worth looking into.

Other possible opponents

  • UConn (originally scheduled to play at Virginia on Sept. 19)
  • UCF (at Georgia Tech, Sept. 18)
  • Air Force (at Purdue, Sept. 19)
  • UNLV (at Iowa State Sept. 19)
  • Toledo (at Michigan State, Sept. 19)
  • Buffalo (at Ohio State, Sept. 19)
  • Kent St (at Kentucky, Sept. 19)
  • Bowling Green (at Illinois, Sept. 19)
  • App State (at Wisconsin, Sept. 19)

Have a team you’d like to see the Owls play? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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College Football and COVID-19: End of July Roundup

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This week has brought plenty of updates as to the status of the upcoming college football season amid a pandemic. Here are a few highlights.

It wasn’t that long ago that we thought we’d have answers regarding the status of the upcoming football season by the time August arrived. With August here, uncertainties seem as abundant as they were months ago. Here’s a snapshot of what’s happened in recent days and weeks and, as a result, what we know about the upcoming season.

Big 12 planned media days … and then canceled them

Most every conference postponed their regularly scheduled media days with the season teetering back and forth. The Big 12 is the first FBS league to set a date for a virtual media day with limited participation. That lasted a few days before it was canceled.

ACC adopts Conference +1 scheduling

The Big Ten and the Pac-12 were the first Power 5 conferences to chop off the nonconference portion of their schedule entirely. The ACC is planning for a hybrid approach, allowing each team to play 10 conference games plus one nonconference opponent. And for the first time in their history, Notre Dame will have an opportunity to compete for a conference championship.

SEC moves to conference-only schedule

Shortly after the ACC decision, the SEC  became the next major domino to fall. That left the Big 12 as the only P5 conference with non-conference games. This decision directly impacts Rice football, which was originally scheduled to play LSU in Houston on September 19.

Opt-outs begin

With most conferences sponsoring some sort of scholarship protection should a player decide not to play this season, we knew opt-outs were going to occur. With prominent NFL players making the decision not to play this week, college players have started to follow suit. The most notable so far is Virginia Tech corner Caleb Farley, projected by some to be a first-round pick.

COVID protocol suspensions at Arizona

For the most part, schools are taking the current health challenges as seriously as possible. Michigan State and Rutgers have quarantined their entire football teams in July. Meanwhile, in Arizona, Kevin Sumlin’s staff has suspended a player for violating safety protocols.

NCAA guidance slim, but fearful

The NCAA has offered little guidance during the past few months, following behind their member institutions and offering vague comments that all precautions must be taken. NCAA President Mark Emmert said this week he was “very concerned” about the status of fall sports.

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