Will The Gophers Play Another Game This Year?

[Plato]

The Herd Immunity Bowl - brought to you by Sweden?

But Sweden does not come close to the 65% immune citizens that makes for herd immunity.
But they did have more dead than the combined total of the surrounding Nordic nations.

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

But Sweden does not come close to the 65% immune citizens that makes for herd immunity.
But they did have more dead than the combined total of the surrounding Nordic nations.

Thank you, however I'm aware of those stats.

 

[Great Plains Gopher]

Maybe the crossover game - doesn't look good for Nebraska. Too bad the Gophers blew a 17 point lead with Maryland - they could be 3-2 and winning the crossover game would make it 4-2 and possibly a bowl in this crazy season. Does anyone have any idea how they will sort the bowls out - those that are left?

 

[tjgopher]

the other consideration is the "total population" percentage. with so many staff members testing positive, it could be difficult for the Gophers to get the total percentage low enough to allow the team to play.

The Gophers have never crossed into the threshold of being too high. They chose to cancel the games on their own. They did not hit Big Ten standards for cancelation.

I believe they will play at Nebraska.

 

[MplsGopher]

STrib editorial board:

https://www.startribune.com/it-s-time-to-shut-down-the-big-ten-football-season/573269531/

It's time to shut down the Big Ten football season
COVID-19 is surging in Big Ten football locker rooms and in the states that the conference's universities serve. Conference officials should cancel what's left of the 2020 season not just to protect student-athletes and staff but to prevent team outbreaks from spreading to the broader community.

This week, the University of Minnesota announced that 47 Gophers football players and staff have tested positive for the virus since Nov. 19, causing the team to cancel a second consecutive game. The number infected is about 30% of the program's personnel. This appears to be the biggest Big Ten football outbreak so far, but that could change rapidly without responsible action by conference officials.

Clearly, the testing, social distancing and "stringent medical protocols" the conference touted to justify resuming play after initially deciding to delay the season are inadequate. There's been only one week since the condensed season's late October start when the virus hasn't forced cancellation of at least one game.

To its credit, the Big Ten put in place more rigorous restrictions than other conferences. But recent remarks made by Gophers coach P.J. Fleck during a radio interview suggest how difficult it is to defend against the virus. Walling off players is not realistic.

"These are student-athletes. They live in dorms. They are around 55,000 other students somehow, some way, even if the class is virtual," Fleck told KFAN.

In an e-mail to an editorial writer, Paul Rovnak, director of communications for Gophers athletics, also stressed the rigor and diligence of the team's infection control efforts. Said Rovnak: "Our recent situation with football is not a result of anyone doing anything wrong. The virus just found a way in."

The pair's comments make a strong case for canceling the rest of the season. No screw-ups are required for a team outbreak to happen. Even the best measures and intentions aren't fail-safe. Given how seriously ill COVID can make people and how much is unknown about its long-term risks — including possible heart damage among athletes — the most responsible course of action is to stop the season.

The Gophers now have just one regular-season game left, plus a Dec. 19 divisional crossover game. Although the Gophers appear to have more COVID cases than the rest of the league's teams, by shutting down the entire conference now and canceling the postseason the Big Ten would send a strong and educational message that the risks vastly outweigh any rewards of playing on.

It's also critical to note that the virus could spread from football programs to the broader communities in which schools are located. The nation is in the midst of an alarming surge of COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

The Minnesota Department of Health has "not identified any community cases associated with the Gopher football team, but that doesn't mean we might not in the future," a spokesman said on Tuesday.

Dr. Dan Diekema, director of the division of infectious diseases at University of Iowa College of Medicine, had lauded the conference's August decision to postpone football. When the conference reversed course a month later, he was critical and told NBC News it was not safe to play.

"Nothing has happened since I gave that interview that would change my view — in fact the COVID-19 activity across the Midwest (and in other areas of the country) has worsened considerably, making it even more problematic," Diekema told an editorial writer this week.

 

[Some guy]

Maybe the crossover game - doesn't look good for Nebraska. Too bad the Gophers blew a 17 point lead with Maryland - they could be 3-2 and winning the crossover game would make it 4-2 and possibly a bowl in this crazy season. Does anyone have any idea how they will sort the bowls out - those that are left?

Most (if not all bowls) have contracts.
So the playoff committee will assign teams to the “New Years 6” and then the bowls will select from conferences in the order of their contracted selection I would imagine.

every team is bowl eligible per ncaa adjustments but I would guess with no fans there would be negative PR to select a team who is awful over a team who has won games.

I wouldn’t be surprised if almost all of them except the New Years 6 cancel.

Those who think there are too many bowls finally get their wish this year

 

[MplsGopher]

Most (if not all bowls) have contracts.
So the playoff committee will assign teams to the “New Years 6” and then the bowls will select from conferences in the order of their contracted selection I would imagine.

every team is bowl eligible per ncaa adjustments but I would guess with no fans there would be negative PR to select a team who is awful over a team who has won games.

I wouldn’t be surprised if almost all of them except the New Years 6 cancel.

Those who think there are too many bowls finally get their wish this year

I imagine the Music City, Citrus, and Outback bowls will still try to play. Big Ten vs SEC matchups, can still hope to capture a decent TV audience. The Mayo bowl (used to be Belk bowl) is Big Ten vs ACC, might also try to go. Pinstripe cancelled, but looks like the Rate bowl is still on for now in Phoenix.

https://bigten.org/news/2020/10/30/football-2020-21-bowl-season-schedule-announced.aspx

 

[HitMeAgainIAmStillMoving]

I can't believe it, but at this point I don't really care. Hell, even after sitting through Nebraska scoring 80 some points on us, I was still up for every game that year. This is something way different though. It's just too much of a crap shoot to invest any more emotion into this year.

83 points actually but who is counting

 

[let'sbeclear]

A far more important question is whether the Gophers SHOULD play another game this year. Or whether the University of Minnesota was irresponsible in trying to play football this season. Even if the COVID-positive players are being kept isolated, the 27-some staff people who were COVID-positive have surely spread the virus into the wider community. And for what? For a game? So the University can get money donated by cultists who believe the University of Minnesota is defined by college sports?

This comment is probably one for the "off-topic board," and that's part of the problem.