- The University of Wisconsin football team was forced to cancel their game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday due to a large outbreak of the coronavirus among the team.
- The Badgers are now at risk of missing out on the College Football Playoff, where they have +6600 National Championship odds.
- Reports say that 12 members of the team tested positive for the virus, including quarterback Graham Mertz and head coach Paul Chryst.
MADISON, Wisc. – News broke out Wednesday morning that the Wisconsin Badgers football team will be canceling their upcoming game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
The cancellation comes in the wake of a series of positive coronavirus cases that swept through the Badgers’ football team.
Wisconsin has halted all team activities for a minimum of seven days, which extends past this Saturday when the No. 9 Badgers were set to play at Nebraska.
As it currently stands, the game will not be rescheduled and each team will record the game as a no contest.
A total of 12 people within the Wisconsin program reportedly tested positive in the past five days, including six student-athletes and six staff members.
Among those testing positive were starting quarterback Graham Mertz and head coach Paul Chryst.
"I am disappointed for our players and coaching staff who put so much into preparing to play each week. But the safety of everyone in our program has to be our top priority and I support the decision made to pause our team activities" said Chryst to media on Wednesday.
The move has many fans and college football bettors wondering the greater impact of this decision on the Badgers’ future this season, as well as the entire Big Ten picture.
Each Big Ten team is only playing nine games in 2020 in order to allow the teams to be in consideration for the College Football Playoffs.
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The Big Ten requires teams to play at least six games in order to qualify for a division championship, so while the Badgers are still able to reach that goal, they suffer a huge hit in terms of exposure to the CFP selection committee.
Wisconsin currently sits at ninth in the nation, and has decent odds to win the Big Ten, as well as the National Championship via the major online sportsbooks.
Big Ten Champion
- Ohio State (#3) -475
- Wisconsin (#9) +550
- Michigan (#13) +600
- Penn State (#18) +1600
- Minnesota +2000
- Purdue +3300
- Indiana (#17) +5000
- Iowa +10000
- Northwestern +15000
The odds for the Big Ten Championship shown here are from before the news broke Wednesday morning. Sportsbooks currently have the Big Ten odds taken down likely in wake of this change.
2020 National Championship Winner
- Clemson (#1) +125
- Alabama (#2) +300
- Ohio State (#3) +325
- Georgia (#5) +1300
- Florida Gators +2000
- Notre Dame (#4) +4000
- Michigan (#13) +5000
- Oklahoma State (#6) +5000
- Texas A&M (#8) +5500
- BYU (#11) +6600
- Miami Florida (#12) +6600
- USC (#21) +6600
- Wisconsin (#9) +6600
- Kansas State (#16) +10000
- Oregon (#14) +10000
If the Badgers are hoping to beat out the likes of Ohio State of Michigan to potentially reach the College Football Playoffs, they will now be making their case without an extra game played in a season where every snap of exposure matters more than ever before.
The Badgers’ next scheduled game is at home against Purdue on November 7.
Jimmy Reinman honed his skills across various mediums including print, radio, and broadcast before bringing his arsenal of knowledge to the team here at USAOnlineSportsbooks in 2020. When he’s not writing, you can find him in a state of focused stress on any College Football Saturday, or maniacally constructing NBA parlays on a cool spring evening.
