Getty Image
Last week, the Big Ten officially canceled its 2020 college football season, as well as other fall sports seasons, due to ongoing health and safety concerns related to the pandemic. The PAC 12 followed in the conference’s footsteps canceling its fall football season as well but with the SEC, ACC, and Big 12 still moving forward with football plans this fall, the Big Ten has been heavily criticized since making its decision.
Since the Big Ten’s unfortunate news, players and coaches at Ohio State have said they’d be willing to join the SEC in order to play football this fall. Buckeyes QB Justin Fields has started a petition that’s been received very well about football being reinstated. Jim Harbaugh has released a statement explaining why football should be played as scheduled and over 100 parents of Iowa football players have penned a letter to the conference commissioner demanding answers as to why they pulled the plug on football this fall.
It’s been a nightmare PR situation for the Big Ten since canceling the season. The three other Power 5 conferences that are moving forward with their seasons are obviously noticing the pushback the Big Ten has received which is another reason, and likely a very important one, as to why they are doing all they can to not cancel the season this fall.
Paul Finebaum joined ‘Get Up!’ on Monday and spoke on the pushback the Big Ten has gotten and pushed the idea that due to the nightmare PR situation, the SEC, ACC, and Big 12 are certainly in no rush to call it quits this fall.
“This may give adrenaline to the other three conferences to move forward without being as careful as they need to be,” Finebaum said, according to 247 Sports. “I know that sounds like a major statement, but they feel it. If you’re the Big 12, the ACC or the SEC, you’re feeling that you’re doing something great right now by playing college football, which may not be great at all. But the odds of any of those three backing down before we get closer to September 26 right now, I think, is very small because of the Big Ten’s PR nightmare.”
The Big Ten released team schedules then quickly turned around and canceled the season altogether. Many college football fans are questioning just about everything when it comes to the Big Ten and it will only get worse for the conference if we fast-forward a month and the ACC, SEC, and Big 12 are playing football.