The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Sports Wednesday, December 9, 2020 — 21 Michigan’s reaction to Ohio State game cancelation Jim Harbaugh protested and marched, released statements and said publicly at every turn that he wanted this football season to happen. And when he told the Michigan football team that the biggest game of their season was canceled — marking the first time in over a century that the Wolverines won’t play Ohio State — they were just as devastated as he was. “Very disappointed,” Harbaugh said. “We were all very much — we wanted to play. And we were all very much, ‘The odds are against us but let’s go do this.’ “And as I said before, to a man. To a man, our players wanted to have that opportunity.” Kirk Herbstreit’s comments on ESPN last week, that Michigan might “wave the white flag” on playing the Buckeyes, using COVID-19 as an excuse, reverberated around the program. Senior defensive back Hunter Reynolds angrily tweeted on Tuesday, “there wasn’t a person in that locker room tryna duck anyone,” and athletic director Warde Manuel released a scathing video last week criticizing Herbstreit. On Tuesday afternoon though, all Manuel had was resignation. Canceling was the right thing to do. That didn’t make it any easier. “The Michigan-Ohio State game is the greatest rivalry in this sport,” Manuel said. “So this is a really hard day, hard time, for me, for Jim and for our team, our staff, our University and for our fans. For both teams, I am certain. But we had a trend with a number of positive tests that continued to go up even over the weekend, and so over the last seven days, they have not slowed. “We were not cleared to participate in practice by our medical staff, and we were looking at, in terms of, by the end of week, much wouldn’t have changed and we still don’t have a total grasp of this virus on our team. And so we are here today, we made the decision this afternoon, that we were not going to be able to participate. We weren’t even cleared to practice today.” No specific numbers were given in terms of the Wolverines’ COVID-19 cases. Dr. Sami Rifat, the team’s medical director, only said the Big Ten’s red/red thresholds — a 5% positivity rate on the roster and a 7.5% positivity rate in the surrounding team population — had not been reached. Reports earlier in the afternoon said that between contact tracing and positive cases, the Wolverines would have been missing upwards of 40 players had the game been played. “Our student-athletes have really worked hard and are diligent,” Manuel said. “This is probably as much a reflection of where we are in our state and in our area. … I don’t want any of this to be reflective of our student-athletes and their efforts to really keep themselves and their teammates safe.” A report in the Detroit Free Press last week said the outbreak came from Thanksgiving-related gatherings after the Penn State game on Nov. 28. Whether positive cases will be stemmed in time for Dec. 19, when Michigan is scheduled to play a crossover game against a to be determined Big Ten West opponent, is unclear. “First priority, as Warde has said, (is) stemming the COVID positives has been the objective here the last week,” Harbaugh said. “Still trying to get that under control. Hopefully that will be looking better in the next few days. Ultimately, we were told the number of people that were out due to COVID was too high. “So, there’s the real possibility that we could play again before this season is over. Our players, as I said before, they want to play. They wanted to play this week. They want to play next week. They’re going to continue to condition and prepare for that possibility.” With the state of the schedule in flux — Ohio State needs to play six games to be eligible for the Big Ten championship game next week unless the rules are changed to accommodate — Manuel said Michigan would be open to playing the Buckeyes the week of Dec. 19 as well if Ohio State doesn’t have a sixth game. ETHAN SEARS Daily Sports Writer In a press conference dedicated primarily to the cancelation of the Ohio State game, Jim Harbaugh and athletic director Warde Manuel declined to speak on rumors of a potential contract extension for Harbaugh. Harbaugh’s original deal expires in 2021, and with a dismal 2-4 season so far, Michigan is at a crossroads on deciding whether to extend him or move on. On Monday, author John U. Bacon reported that Manuel and Harbaugh had discussed a new incentive-laden contract worth less money than his current deal, with a smaller buyout. Tuesday, though, Manuel seemingly refuted that. “This is a time where we’re gonna focus on this pandemic,” Manuel said. “Jim and I will meet, as we have said, at the end of the year to discuss the program and where we’re gonna go and all those different things. How rumors get started about things before Jim and I sit down and have a conversation, I’m not gonna get into. That’s not for me to track down. But that’s where that is and that’s where we’ll be at the end of the season.” Harbaugh added: “Warde and I have, for months, long agreed that we’ll talk about the extension at the end of the season.” When asked to clarify what was meant by the end of the season, Manuel said, “We have one last game … that we are scheduled to play,” referring to the Championship Weekend crossover matchup on Dec. 19. While it is not a guarantee the Wolverines will be able to play that weekend given their current COVID-19 outbreak, Michigan indicated that it is still preparing as if it will play that game. He also clarified that he has always held contract talks at the end of the season and that is not a new development in 2020. There would be complications from waiting until then to further discuss an extension. National Signing Day is Dec. 16, and if there is uncertainty over who will coach the Wolverines next year, it could lead to losses on the recruiting trail. When asked if he was afraid other teams would use the uncertainty around Michigan’s coaching situation against it in recruiting, Manuel stated simply that, “negative recruiting occurs all the time.” Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic reported Tuesday that Harbaugh and Manuel have discussed an extension in the last week and that the program prefers to have a resolution by Signing Day, a date that is in conflict with what Manuel said in the press conference. Bacon and Baumgardner also both indicated that Harbaugh has received interest from at least five NFL teams, though it is unclear whether there have been any formal job offers. According to Baumgardner, the decision is now up to Harbaugh to accept the new terms or walk away. Tuesday’s press conference didn’t clear anything up on the contract front — in fact, it made things seem even more uncertain. Whatever happens, though, it’s likely that a decision will come in the next few weeks, whether that’s before Signing Day or after Championship Weekend. We just likely won’t know what’s coming until it happens. “I don’t wanna make anybody feel or think that Jim and I have been just sitting around, not talking to each other about this,” Manuel said. “We have had a lot to talk about ... and Jim has been a leader and phenomenal with his efforts on his team. ... He’s committed to this team, he’s committed to this department, he’s committed to this university. “So from my standpoint, he has been doing everything at a high level, including his efforts with the team, so from that perspective I just don’t want people to get the sense that we’re just sitting around and nobody’s talking to each other and we’re waiting and waiting. That is the furthest thing from the truth. We’ve had a lot to do and a lot of other things to talk about.” ARIA GERSON Daily Sports Writer Harbaugh, Manuel mum on contract extension talks What would have been: Even before cancellation, COVID-19 took the life out of “The Game” O n Monday morning of the week Michi- gan was scheduled to play Ohio State, there wasn’t an unruly mess of TV cameras swarming Jim Harbaugh’s press conference. Even in this Zoom year, there weren’t four screens of reporters pining for that perfect soundbyte. On Twitter, there weren’t fans perform- ing the req- uisite mental gymnastics to convince them- selves that this is the year the Wolverines finally win. There weren’t players saying they came to Michigan to beat Ohio State or seniors praying their last shot comes to fruition. The reason, of course, was a COVID-19 outbreak in the Michi- gan program put in-person prac- tices on pause since last Monday, ultimately forcing The Game to be canceled on Tuesday. “It is disheartening that we’re not gonna be able to play Mary- land,” athletic director Warde Manuel said last week in a video released to media. “And our hope is that we can play Ohio State and finish the season in the final week.” On Tuesday, his hopes were officially squashed. Consider that for a second and let it sink in. For the first time in 103 years, Michigan will not play Ohio State. The last time it hap- pened, there was the small mat- ter of a World War. A year later, despite the Spanish flu pandemic limiting the Wolverines to five games, the two teams faced off at Ohio Field, with Michigan win- ning, 14-0. Let’s not have any misconcep- tions: That result would have been incredibly unlikely to hap- pen this year, even if The Game were played. As of Sunday night, the Buckeyes were favored by 29.5 — a fair line considering one team is bound for the College Football Playoff and the other is 2-4. But despite this horrendous year for Harbaugh and Michigan, there’s something inconceivable about The Game being canceled. From a purely fact-based analysis of the rivalry’s last 15 years, a cancelation would seem to be no great loss. Since 2004, the Wolverines have won just once. Under Harbaugh, Michigan is 0-5. For nearly two decades, it hasn’t mattered whether the Wolverines are a national title contender or bottom-feeding fod- der. They do nothing but alter- nate losses in Columbus with losses in Ann Arbor. And yet, there’s something impossibly hopeful about The Game. Think about the age-old debate amongst fans: Would Michigan rather finish 11-1 with a loss to Ohio State or 1-11 with a win over Ohio State? As fool- ish as the question is (and yes, 11-1 is the answer), it highlights the meaning of this game. A few lucky bounces and questionable calls can reverse a season’s last- ing feeling. Consider, for example, the Buckeyes’ 2018 upset of Michi- gan. Ranked 10th in the country, they weren’t going to the Col- lege Football Playoff. By their sky-high standards, the season should have already been a dis- appointment. But they spoiled the Wolverines’ Revenge Tour party. That, not its eventual Rose Bowl win, is Ohio State’s lasting impression of its 2018 season. And if you think the same can’t happen for Michigan, think back a year further. With three losses before The Game and John O’Korn under center, the Wol- verines were 12-point underdogs and had precious little to play for. Yet, they scored the game’s first 14 points, and led mid- way through the third quarter. Had Josh Metellus held onto a dropped second-quarter inter- ception, Michigan likely would have won. Do I think that would have happened this year if The Game were played? No. If I had to pick one side of Vegas’ 29.5-point spread, it would’ve been the Buckeyes’. But for this one week, hope would have at least ema- nated. “We still have the big team, OSU, at the end of the year,” senior offensive lineman Andrew Stueber said, when asked what Michigan had left to play for after a 27-17 loss to Penn State dropped the Wolverines to 2-4. “We just need to click on all cyl- inders and we’re in contention for that game.” Call that a fairy tale impres- sion of Michigan’s chances. I won’t blame you, because I agree. But the pure presence of that word — chance — mattered. It mattered to these players and it mattered to Harbaugh. And if nothing else positive could have come out of this wretched year, they deserved those five days of annual opti- mism. It might have been all they had. Mackie can be reached at tmackie@umich.edu or on Twitter @theo_mackie. THEO MACKIE ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily The Michigan Wolverines lines up on defense against the Ohio State Buckeyes in last year’s edition of “The Game” which the Wolverines lost, 27-56. There won’t be fans performing the requisite mental gymnastics to convince themselves that this is the year. ‘THE GAME’ CANCELED ALEC COHEN/Daily With COVID-19 cases on the rise within the program, the Michigan-Ohio State matchup became the 121st FBS game to be canceled this season.