Ohio State is the latest high-profile college football team to cancel a game because of a COVID-19 outbreak.
The Buckeyes’ game today at Illinois has been canceled and Ohio State announced it will pause all football activities because of multiple positive COVID-19 tests within the football team.
Ohio State coach Ryan Day had already confirmed that he tested positive and would not coach. But after Day’s positive test, additional tests came back positive and the school decided it couldn’t play at all.
No. 4 Ohio State has now had two games canceled this season, as its game against Maryland was also canceled because of a COVID-19 outbreak at Maryland. Under Big Ten rules, Ohio State would be ineligible for the Big Ten Championship Game if it doesn’t play both of its remaining scheduled games, against Michigan State and Michigan. The College Football Playoff does not have any requirements about how many games a team must play to qualify for the four-team playoff, but Ohio State failing to qualify for its own conference championship could result in the playoff committee deciding to exclude Ohio State from the playoff.