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Northwestern-Minnesota game canceled due to ongoing COVID-19 issues
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Another week, another cancelation in the Big Ten due to COVID-19.
The latest victim is this weekend’s Big Ten West matchup between Northwestern and Minnesota. ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg first broke the story on Monday.
Sources: The #Northwestern–#Minnesota game set for Saturday in Minneapolis is expected to be canceled because of ongoing COVID-19 issues with the Minnesota program. Announcement soon.
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) November 30, 2020
This news came as the Gophers have paused all football activities due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the program. The news was confirmed shortly after Rittenberg’s report.
NEWS: This week’s game at Minnesota has been cancelled as @GopherFootball activities remain paused. Hoping for a quick return to full health for our friends in the Twin Cities. #GoCats pic.twitter.com/mmRMUNftTY
— Northwestern Football (@NUFBFamily) November 30, 2020
On Saturday, Nicole Auerbach of the Athletic reported that 40 people inside the Minnesota program had contracted the virus, including 20 players. These COVID issues led to a pause in football activity early last week and ultimately the cancelation of last week’s game against Wisconsin.
This will be Northwestern’s first canceled game of the season. The Wildcats were hoping to rebound against a struggling Gopher squad after Northwestern dropped its first game of the season this past Saturday against Michigan State.
Though the Wildcats would have liked to play on Saturday, the Wildcats are not in danger of missing out on a chance to play for the Big Ten championship in Indianapolis. The most games Northwestern can lose at this point is two. The current Big Ten rules state that if a team misses three games this season, the squad is ineligible to play in the Big Ten title game.
As for Minnesota, the Gophers will likely need some quick heal times if they are going to continue their season. The team appears to have a growing number of cases and not much time left to play. Minnesota’s next scheduled game, the regular season finale, is on Dec. 12 against Nebraska.