Syracuse Football: What UConn’s canceled season means for the Orange

UConn football is the first FBS program to cancel its 2020 season due to COVID. It has a direct effect on Syracuse football and other northeast programs.

The UConn Huskies football program may have started a domino effect after reporting that they will not participate in the 2020 season due to coronavirus concerns. Syracuse football and the ACC still have plans for a full conference season with one non-conference game for each team. Now, the UConn decision may force SU into a tough dilemma.

Only a few days after this announcement, the Orange received its ACC schedule, as the conference moves forward in attempting to play the 2020 season. Syracuse will have numerous teams from down south on the schedule, which could be unnerving, considering how the northeast is currently miles ahead of the south in controlling COVID.

Safety is the key for this season, and right now it would be easy to say that the ACC and other conferences in college football may not have the safest plans in line.

For a virus that has caused over 150,000 deaths in the United States and is so easy to catch, the NBA has guided the correct path of playing sports – a bubble scenario. College football has no plans to play in a bubble, and the MLB has been an example of what can go wrong with that format.

The UConn decision will likely cause other programs to rethink their plans for the season, as safety should be the number one priority. For Syracuse football, this is especially true, as the two schools are roughly in the same geographic area, and have many similarities as far as COVID rules, regulations, and overcoming the virus.

Everyone wants a college football season, but there’s a strong chance teams will continue to back out. UConn won’t be the only one and Syracuse will have to really think it over.