UMass has a football team, as does UConn, and you will watch them play in East Hartford on Thursday, Sept. 3, one of 14 Thursday night games in Week 1. If the coronavirus doesn't force cancellations—or one mass cancellation—during the 2020 college football season, you will appreciate every…single…game.
The last time a college football season was canceled: Never. The last time college football had weeks-long cancellations: Never, not even during World War I or World War II, or amidst the calls for bans and safety reform in the early 1900s as deaths rocked the sport.
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Hurricane Dorian forced cancellations, postponements and location changes last year, as did Hurricane Florence in 2018 and other weather events over the years. Several dozens games scheduled for Sept. 13 and 15, 2001, days after the 9/11 attacks, were canceled but rescheduled for open dates. The season resumed a week later, as it did 38 years prior when most games were canceled one day after the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
Maybe we'll play without fans, dozens of coaches, athletic directors, school presidents and other stakeholders have wondered aloud in the weeks after the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament and other sporting events around the world. Or no fans until October. Maybe we'll lose two games, one Power Five AD told Ralph Russo, or play the season in the spring, an administrator told Bruce Feldman.
As of now, 839 regular-season FBS games are scheduled for the fall (one more game than last season), along with 10 conference championships, 41 bowl games, two College Football Playoff semifinals, and the national championship.
Eight hundred and ninety-three games.
From non-conference blockbusters—Ohio State at Oregon, Texas at LSU, and Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin at Lambeau Field—and FCS headliners—South Dakota State at Nebraska, North Dakota State at Oregon, and James Madison at North Carolina—to conference beauties—Auburn at Alabama, Michigan at Ohio State, and Florida at Georgia—and intriguing Friday-night clashes—North Carolina at UCF, Utah State at BYU, and Houston at BYU—there are currently 893 college football games scheduled for the 139 days between August 29, 2020, and January 11, 2021.
If we have college football this season, you will watch and appreciate every…single…game, including UConn-UMass on Sept. 3. Including Elon-Duke on Sept. 12, Illinois at Rutgers on Oct. 3, Akron-Ball State on Oct. 24, and Texas Southern-New Mexico State on Nov. 14.
NEXT: 100 Games We Can't Lose
