Major college football divide on playing in the fall clearly a regional issue

Leave it to the Ohio State parents, in their quest to have football return this fall to the Big Ten, to get right to the meat of the issue.

“Football is a game of risk,” said a statement from the team’s parents association.

The group said if a student-athlete wants to play football, they would sign a waiver,releasing the school from any liability if they would contract COVID-19.

Seems sensible enough.

But not for many in the national media who continue to roast the SEC and the ACC for planning to play football this fall.

“They are supposed to be elite academic schools that care about science and knowledge, but Duke, Notre Dame, Vandy, Rice, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, and UNC are embarrassingly silent as their conferences press on with their reckless quest to play football,” wrote columnist Christine Brennan in USA Today.

Tulane University’s Dr Greg Stewart is the chair of the American Athletic Conference’s COVID-19 medical advisory group.

“Medically we can do this,” said Stewart in an interview last week with WGNO-TV. “Certainly at the college level, and move forward in a very safe manner.”

So, the debate goes back and forth.

The Big Ten says it has science on its side. Others, such as Stewart, have a different take.

“We are as safe as we can be,” said Stewart.

In the meantime, a question: If the SEC and the ACC had decided to shelve football for the fall and the Big Ten decided to play, would the narrative reported nationally be different?

Of course it would. The Big Ten knows better.

They say they will play in the spring. Really?

Is playing 10 games in the spring followed by 12 more games in the fall best for the student-athlete?

Is playing at the Horseshoe at Ohio State in early March in 15 degree weather desirable?

What about the quality of play?

Any player with his eyes on the National Football League will spend his spring getting ready for the draft.

A former Big 10 football player weighed in on that subject.

“If this had happened a year ago, I might be looking for a job,” tweeted none other than Joe Burrow.

Chris Massaro, the director of athletics at Middle Tennessee State, cited geography as a big part of the schism between those who have decided not to play and those who still hold out hope of playing.

“I saw a map that stretches across the South,” said Massaro of the schools that have not postponed football this fall.

Contrary to what you might read, the SEC has handled the pandemic about as well as possible.

Practice starts again Monday.

The first games, if they are played, won’t be played until the end of September.

In the meantime, many in the media wait for any sign of positive cases and their chance to say, “I told you so.”

When the Big Ten cancelled, several league coaches expressed their dismay, including Nebraska’s Scott Frost.

The Cornhuskers head coach even floated the idea of playing games in the fall out of conference. Nebraska was forced to fall in line. and later issued this statement.

“The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is a fully committed member of the Big Ten Conference. It an unparalleled athletic and academic alliance.”

Kevin Warren is the league’s commissioner.

As outkick.com reported, Warren’s son Powers plays tight end at Mississippi State. The Bulldogs kick off fall practice Monday, and the younger Warren will be on the field.

Isn’t that something?