Welcome to another day. Survive and advance, baby.
Word of the Day: Alameda,
START WITH A BANG. The Big Ten is expected to release its revised 2020 slate any time now and there's at least a chance that Michigan's annual flaying is moved up from the end of November to the beginning of September.
It would be bizarre, but as Dave Briggs of the Toledo Blade explains more eloquently, why the hell not?
With the Big Ten reportedly considering a 10-game, conference-only schedule that would be frontloaded with divisional contests, anything is possible, including, yes, the Buckeyes and Wolverines batting leadoff.
...
I appreciate the idea of keeping Ohio State-Michigan as the finale, dangling it out there as a reward if college football is able to successfully cross the 10,000-mile bridge from September to the end of the season.
But, again, if ever there was a year to flip everything on its head, this is it.
Inverting Ohio State-Michigan on the schedule would not only provide a show-stopping welcome back for college football — a ratings monster off the bat — but give us the best chance to see the rivals compete at full strength. Let’s face it: If by some miracle we’re able to responsibly hold a season, chances are players and teams will be in and out of quarantine, the rosters shallowing as the year deepens. (OK, this all crazy. Bear with me!)
For all of the unfortunate novelties of 2020, what’s wrong with a fun one?
I'm in. I'm sure not going to wait any longer for that game than I already have to at this point and this seems like the best way to ensure that it actually gets played. But allow me to raise you – what about Michigan in September and Michigan in November?
Give it to me. Nothing would fix 2020 like watching the Buckeyes pound Michigan on the football field twice in a three-month span.
DARK SIDE OF THE ROSE. It looks like Rashod Berry had himself a little quarantine passion project. Y'all, our guy is now officially a musician.
My Music finally dropped
— (@Shoddieslime_13) July 27, 2020
Show love by just listening to it https://t.co/SsVWPNH7F5
I have a strong policy of casting absolutely zero stones at folks sharing something creative with the world for the first time. But even if I was in a critical mood, this kinda slaps.
Do your thing, Shoddieslimee. You know damn well what to do with your haters.
EXPECT DISRUPTIONS. Baseball had a slight uh-oh with its virus containment this week, leading to (at least) two games being postponed.
It's gonna be our first case study in how sports leagues are going to handle the inevitable outbreak in a non-bubble league, which means college football should be paying close attention.
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, contacted by @DMRegister after Marlins canceled Monday night's game: If we are advised that it is OK to play the (football) season, we should all expect that there will be such disruptions."
— Randy Peterson (@RandyPete) July 27, 2020
People absolutely lost their minds at this take, but 1) it's true and 2) it's also been the plan all along.
Every conference is in the midst of building in flex weeks and additional bye weeks to be able to postpone and reschedule games. What did you think that expected rescheduling was going to be for, weather? If you're going to be pissed about what he said, you should have been pissed weeks ago when the Big Ten literally announced that this was going to be the plan.
There are actually a few key differences with college football, though. The one thing that works in football's advantage is that postponing much more feasible when you only play once a week. If if you've got to quarantine your entire offense for two weeks, that means a maximum of two games between two opponents needs rescheduling. In baseball, that's like 10 games between four opponents.
On the flip side, when baseball quarantines half its team, they can just like, sign more players. College football doesn't really have that luxury, unless you want to tap the general student population, which would kind of rule.
Let's be real, there's no way Chandler from Delta Chi is any worse than the warm bodies Michigan's trotted out at quarterback the past decade.
WHAC'S STRONGEST MAN. If Teradja Mitchell is to be believed, it seems we've got a proper Hercules dwelling in the WHAC.
@Big_Tom72 the strongest player in CFB. Cant convince me otherwise
— Teradja Mitchell (@teradja_) July 27, 2020
I have absolutely no problem believing this. Tommy Togiai was No. 42 on Bruce Feldman's Freaks list (the one good subjective list) this year, and he reported that Togiai can bench more than 500 pounds and squats more than 650.
Best of luck against that in the trenches!
REAL RECOGNIZE REAL. Dwayne Haskins might have found himself the crispiest football jersey of all time – some Chase Young high school threads.
SONG OF THE DAY. "august" by Taylor Swift.
NOT STICKING TO SPORTS. I’m a paraplegic who used to smuggle ecstasy in my wheelchair... What it's like to spend a decade hunting a serial killer on the Internet... A man parades down the street wearing nothing but a facemask over his crotch... An Afghanistan teenager's husband was among the Taliban attackers she killed when her family was targeted... The spectacular tale of a stranded circus and its great escape from Honduras...
