Ohio State Football: Gene Smith needs to put pressure on the Big Ten

The Ohio State football team needs its Athletic Director Gene Smith to stand up to Kevin Warren and the Big Ten powers that be.

With the primary focus for this Ohio State Football team being to get healthy enough to play Michigan State next Saturday, Buckeye Athletic Director Gene Smith needs put pressure on the Big Ten conference to adapt to its current circumstances.

Wisconsin, Maryland, Illinois, Purdue, Nebraska, and more have all been affected by COVID-19. The conference is losing scheduled games because of its lack of leadership from the start of the season. Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren’s lack of transparency has made the conference look weak.

Let’s call it what it is. The SEC got this right. They built-in protocols and procedures for if and when things got messy with this pandemic. It had the measures to ensure that every team gets a fair chance at getting all its games in and moving on to play postseason football.

Now as the Big Ten conference’s single powerhouse program fights internally with COVID-19, the postseason is looking bleak because of the conference’s poor planning. Gene Smith needs to get involved.

Smith was asked on Saturday about talking with the Big Ten in regards to its two most controversial topics regarding this season. The 21-day period for COVID-19 positive athletes to sit out and the mandatory six games that must be played to get into the championship game. Smith said this, via Eleven Warriors:

"“No, the conversations have not occurred,” Smith said. “I understand that question and understand that people are thinking about that, but that’s not where we are. Might that come up later at some point? No question. But right now, I haven’t even thought about it.”"

Understandably, Smith’s concern is with the players and staff that have tested positive. But Smith needs to have this conversation with Big ten officials or else this could be one of those great “what if” football teams the fans will always look back on.

These players, coaches, and support staff have sacrificed a lot in order to get this season in. Many of them not seeing their families for months on end. The Big Ten needs to do right by them and adapt to the current situation.

Otherwise, this season might as well have not been played by the Big Ten conference.