Report: Big Ten Approves 8-Game Football Season Perhaps Starting in October

Nothing official yet, but would this mean the Pac-12 will follow suit and start playing football in the fall?

A proposal for the the Big Ten to play an eight-game football schedule in the fall, perhaps starting on October 17, has been approved, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported Tuesday based on sources.

Nothing official has been announced and there is no certainty regarding a starting date, but the Journal-Sentinel story notes that the latest proposal was submitted to the Big Ten’s Council of Presidents and Chancellors and was approved.

Pete Thamel of Yahoo.com tweeted at 3:21 p.m. Pacific time that Big Ten coaches have not heard anything official about a fall schedule.

No official word about a Big Ten restart has trickled down to Big Ten coaches. Many programs have been proceeding/planning the past few days for an Oct. 17 start, pending the upcoming vote/decision. There remains a lot of hope and optimism. But no official green light, yet.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 15, 2020

The Detroit News reported that a fall schedule has been approved by the Big Ten, but a final decision is being held up because of questions about testing.

An approval of a Big Ten fall schedule leads to a question of whether the Pac-12 will follow suit and begin playing football in the fall. A breakthrough in terms of testing was announced by the Pac-12 last month, and Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott has said he is optimistic that the conference might be able to have a football season before January 1.

The Big Ten and the Pac-12 are the only Power Five conferences that opted to postpone their fall football seasons because of COVID-19, and they have taken parallel paths in the decision-making process on this issue.

Pac-12 university presidents would have to approve a possible fall football season, and there are health restriction issues in California and Oregon that might prohibit having college football games in those states.  The City of Berkeley and Alameda County have their own restrictions which are limiting what Cal can do in terms of workouts and practice.

USC football players sent a letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom asking him to ease restrictions to allow them to play games this fall, according to an ESPN.com report.

Cal quarterback Chase Garbers made his desires known in a tweet:

#WeWantToPlay #LetUsPlay @GavinNewsom @pac12

— Chase Garbers (@ChaseGarbers) September 15, 2020

According to the Journal-Sentinel report, each Big Ten team is to play eight games in a nine-week window, with a Big Ten championship game tentatively set for Dec. 19. 

That should allow a Big Ten representative to compete for a spot in the four-team College Football Playoff. The selection day for the CFP is Dec. 20.

If the Pac-12 establishes a similar schedule it also might allow the champions of the Big Ten and Pac-12 to meet in a Rose Bowl-type game.

According to KETV7 in Omaha, University of Nebraska president Ted Carter was caught on a hot mic Tuesday morning saying that the league would release the news later in the day regarding a fall football season.

Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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