College Football Live Stream Free What kind of compensation will Portland State get from losing non-conference football games this fall against Arizona and Oregon State? (Chase Allgood)Chase Allgood
By Ken Goe | The Oregonian/OregonLive
For those invested in seeing a college football season this fall, news about the coronavirus pandemic continues to be discouraging.
Even the diehards in the SEC aren’t offering any promises.
Writes Dan Wolken of USA Tdoay: The mighty SEC is in real trouble.
This story from The New York Times says the whole season is on the brink.
The brink of what, you ask? It’s a good question because no one seems to know for sure.
As the AP reports, the Patriot League has punted on fall football. SEC leaders aren’t announcing a decision, at least not yet.
ESPN reports concern is growing about playing college football in the fall, and there is increasing support for a spring season.
It remains to be seen, though, what the pandemic will be like in the spring should college football’s leadership kick the can that far. Will there be a widely available vaccine in March? And whether or not there is, what will the new normal be?
The only thing we know for sure is, the landscape will be different than it was before the coronavirus got loose.
Among the problems with which college football teams are grappling are testing availability, return speeds for test results, and how to handle outbreaks, which almost certainly will occur if there is a fall season. (Sports Illustrated)
Testing issues are what drove the Pac-12 and Big Ten to decide play conference-only games. At least everybody in the same conference will be using the same coronavirus protocols.
But that decision comes with its own set of problems.
In his weekly notes column, the Daily Star’s Greg Hansen writes that he expects Portland State and other FCS schools losing nonconference games because of the Pac-12′s decision to go conference-only, to pursue legal action if they aren’t financially reimbursed.
Writes Hansen: “A prominent Tucson attorney told me that non-Power 5 programs will likely attempt to hold Pac-12 schools to their guaranteed contracts. The Power 5 schools can’t claim a ‘force majeure’ clause — act-of-God-type cancellations — if they are still playing games.” (Second item)
PSU, incidentally, has two of the canceled non-leaguers with the Pac-12, against Arizona and Oregon State.
Chris Vannini of The Athletic takes reader questions about the tough, financial predicament in which Group of 5 athletic programs find themselves.
Many of those concerns apply equally to the FBS.
OK, more links:
Pat Rooney of the Boulder Daily Camera: As one blow after another falls on college athletics, it’s starting to feel like March all over again.
Expect some NFL draft prospects to bail on the college season amid COVID-19 uncertainty. (The Athletic)
Jake Curtis of the Cal Sports Report: OK, the Pac-12 has decided to go to a conference-only schedule. Now comes the hard part.
With the Pac-12 going to a conference-only football season. The O’s Nick Daschel takes a deep dive into what that means for Oregon State.
Oregon State reports no new positive cases of coronavirus among athletes. Oregon, ahem, didn’t report.
OSU linebacker Hamilcar Rashed is on the Bednarik Award watch list. (G-T)
OSU athletes tackle systemic racism. (G-T)
UO players Jevon Holland and Kayvon Thibodeaux make the Bednarik Award watch list. The award honors a top defensive player.
Oregon is the Pac-12′s best hope for College Football Playoff. (ESPN)
The reality of the pandemic bites the Ducks and the Pac-12 hard. (R-G)
Utah quarterback Jason Shelley transfers to Utah State, and is eligible immediately. (Salt Lake Tribune)
Utah State’s quarterback position suddenly becomes intriguing. (Deseret News)
Utah’s use of ‘Utes’ as a nickname has the support of the Ute Tribe. (Deseret News)
Gordon Monson of the Salt Lake Tribune: Utah is doing what it can to stay afloat.
Colorado is preparing to play while bracing for the worst. (Boulder Daily Camera)
Former USC quarterback JT Daniels will be immediately eligible at Georgia. (SCNG)
Former Washington coach Chris Petersen takes on a leadership role with the UW school of business. (Seattle Times)The bad news keeps coming, day after day. The latest Wednesday really hit home — literally — for those of us who love college football.
PSAC Suspends NCAA Competition For Fall 2020
That was the headline from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. There will be no football games at IUP, Slippery Rock and the 14 other league schools in our little corner of the world. The announcement followed similar news from the Ivy League and Patriot League.
Things are no better on the major-college football level. The Big Ten and Pac-12 have announced they will play a conference schedule only this season. The other three Power Five conferences are expected to follow.
Kevan Smith has heard stories of teammates being called names just because they were wearing a mask during a global pandemic.
Ron Cook
Ron Cook: Kevan Smith’s experience highlights ignorance in mask debates
You know what the next announcement will be, right?
That there will be no college football this fall.
That there will be no major-college football in the spring.
That there will be no major-college football until August 2021.
“We are running out of time to correct and get things right,” was the word to ESPN from SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, who runs college football’s most powerful league. “The trends [with COVID-19] are not what we desired, not what we had experienced earlier in the summer. Pretty much in the wrong decision. That’s problematic.” Sankey added his concern for a season is “high to very high … The direct reality is not good.”
I know what Ed Orgeron, coach of national champion LSU, is saying. “We need to play. Football is the lifeblood of our country. This [coronavirus] can be handled.”
I know the financial devastation that a lost football season would mean to the colleges, especially after the lost revenue from the canceled NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Earlier this month, Stanford became the latest of many schools to cut its sports programs, 11 in all.
Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett (8) is pressured by Penn State linebacker Jan Johnson (36) on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019, at Beaver Stadium at University Park. Penn State beat Pitt, 17-10.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
PODCAST: Prospect of playing college football season gets bleaker by the day
I know the financial devastation that a lost football season would mean to the college towns. Tuscaloosa, Ala., mayor Walt Maddox has said his city would lose approximately $200 million in revenue if there is no Alabama Crimson Tide football.
I know all of that.
But I also know college football faces the most difficult road to a season this fall. Pro athletes have a union to look out for their best interests. Who’s going to look out for the college kids? The pro leagues can afford regular testing for COVID-19. Who’s going to pay to test the college players? Pro athletes are well-compensated to risk getting the virus. College players get virtually nothing to play. Most of the pros will follow all the safety protocols because they want to get paid. Most of the college kids will do what college kids do — party. There is no way they’re going to live in a bubble.
Do you really believe there’s a chance, even the slightest chance, for a college football season?
Don’t expect it to happen in the spring, either.
The Ivy League, Patriot League and PSAC might be able to pull off spring football, but it’s not going to work for the Power Five conferences. For one thing, it is too much of a physical commitment to ask the players on that level to play two full seasons in one calendar year.
For another, the best players aren’t going to want to play in the spring with the NFL draft scheduled for late-April. They will be all-in on the NFL at that point. Why in the world if you are, say, Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence and you’re going to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft, are you going to line up to play Boston College in March? It’s hard to imagine any of the top players being willing to play.
There even has been speculation that some of those players will skip a fall season. Why should they risk their health when they are so close to the NFL and financial security?
But that last point is a moot point.
There isn’t going to be a fall football season.
Don’t you just hate the truth?
Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com and Twitter@RonCookPG. Ron Cook can be heard on the “Cook and Joe” show weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan.