Michigan Football: Key schedule questions will be answered soon

Michigan football doesn’t have a schedule yet for the 2020 season, as the Big Ten is working on it, but reports are it will be out soon.

Ever since the Big Ten conference announced it was playing a conference-only schedule, Michigan football and others have been waiting to hear the new schedule going forward.

A conference game will have to be added and for Michgan football, which was already scheduled to play five home games, the 10th game will likely be on the road, unless the schedule is re-done completely and then all bets are off.

Questions have lingered about when the Wolverines would play Ohio State. There have been rumors about moving it up in the season, possibly even to September just to ensure “The Game” is played.

That’s probably the thing I’m most interested in. And according to Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune, we should get some answers soon.

The schedule could be released next week or even as early as Friday. The question about Michigan-Ohio State is legitimate. But so is another: Will there be football at all?

According to one of Greenstein’s sources, it’s not such a sure thing as he writes:

"“Although college football is “hanging by a thread,” according to a top Big Ten source, the conference still is hoping and planning for a nine- or 10-game season. Because without a plan, there’s zero chance. Another source said he would be “shocked” if the Big Ten does not release a tentative schedule by next week and as early as Friday.”"

A tentative schedule is exactly that, tenative. But it would at least be a starting point and something for Michigan and others to shoot for. Also, with it just being the Big Ten, maybe there is a chance of a semi-bubble type of situation which would allow for a season.

Everything seems up in the air, but that seems to be the best hope as the SEC and Pac-12 are all playing conference-only schedules too, in the case of the SEC, ending some long-standing rivalries such as Florida-Florida State, Clemson-South Carolina and Georgia-Georgia Tech, among others.

Notre Dame even gave up its independence this season to join the ACC, in order to try and have a season. Along those lines, Greenstein reports that the Big Ten will give each school several bye weeks in order to have flexibility. As other sports have shown, it may be needed.

But as far as when Michigan football will tentatively open the season? We will finally have an answer any day.