Ohio State coach Ryan Day said all possibilities should be considered for college football to happen this year, including playing a shortened season that would be conference-only games.
“Any football is better than no football,” Day said Wednesday. “We’ll do whatever we need to do. We’ll make it work — whatever they tell us the parameters are — and we’ll adapt. And then we’ll play. With this time, there’s a lot of unique situations, so we’re OK with adapting. We’d love to play the whole season — we’re expecting to play the whole season — but if that’s what happens, we’ll figure it out.”
Day addressed a variety of topics in a teleconference with reporters that lasted about 40 minutes, but much of it focused on the uncertainty that has engulfed college athletics as the coronavirus pandemic continues. While there is no timeline for a return to practice, Day said a “six week window is a great starting point” to prepare players for the season.
“I don’t know if that’s exactly what we go to, but the six week return to play is definitely something that is a starting point,” Day said. “We go from there as the medical authorities and people help us with that exact time frame. With that, I think you create models, whatever they are. Those are things we’re just going to keep diving into week after week.”
Day was asked if expanding the College Football Playoff from four teams to eight or 16 should be hastened to bring athletic departments more revenue quickly.
“I think anything is worth considering, I do, I just think until we know this season what we’re dealing with, it’s hard to even have conversations like that,” Day said. “I think those are all good ideas. Until we know our parameters, it’s hard to make any decisions. I think everything is on the table.”
Day declined to share any of his own ideas, and he said the Big Ten conference office has tried to keep its conversations private for the moment. He did say it’s also worth exploring playing games without fans, but that it would be “eerie” calling plays in a quiet stadium, where coaches could hear each other yelling across the field.
“Any football is better than no football,” Day said. “My thought process in all this is that we need to look at all options. If the ideal situation arises, great. But if not, what are we going to do to come up with some sort of football and keeping everybody safe and healthy? But the biggest challenge with that is going to be, if it’s not safe for the fans, then how is it safe for the players and coaches and those types of people?”