What having students back means for Ohio State football
By Ryan Stano
Ohio State president Michael Drake announced last evening that the university will have students on campus for the fall. Here’s what that means for the Ohio State football team.
When the pandemic shut down the country, there were several steps that needed to occur before football was a possibility. Some of those requirements included social distancing and a reduction in cases. Some good news was given to the Ohio State football world yesterday regarding this.
School President Michael Drake announced that the university would have students on campus for the fall. This is a big deal and a big step towards having football back. It wouldn’t make sense for the football team to be back on campus if the general student population couldn’t be there as well.
Having students back on campus is a major indication that Ohio State will play some football. It remains to be seen whether or not they play the schedule they have before them right now. Some things may have to be adjusted based on what other campuses do.
Ohio State will have fans “spaced out” in Ohio Stadium
Perhaps the biggest thing that Drake said is that as of right now, the plan is to have fans in the stands and to have them” spaced out”. That means that fans will get to see their team play in person. It also means that the pandemic won’t rob us of a college football season.
Having students on campus and fans in the stands means that there is a sense of normalcy on the horizon. It means that Buckeye fans can enjoy their team playing on Saturday’s whether it’s at home or in the Shoe. It means that we are making progress against the virus.
As for how this affects the football team themself is another matter. It should give them a giant morale boost and should help their performance on Saturday’s. Even if the stadium is half full, that’s still a lot of fans screaming and cheering. That still makes it hard for opposing offenses to operate.
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As time goes on we will learn more details about how tickets will be distributed and how seating will be determined. We will let you know when those details are released. But this is a fantastic first step and something every Buckeye fan should be happy about.