The Michigan football team has been cleared for limited workouts per a school spokesman, and a source told ESPN that the Wolverines are planning to practice in some capacity Monday.
Michigan paused all in-person team activities last week due to a rise in COVID-19 cases and cancelled its game against Maryland originally scheduled for Dec. 5. A decision on whether Michigan will play its game against Ohio State this weekend has not been made, and although Monday’s news is a step forward, a source told ESPN that it does not guarantee the game will be played as planned.
A Michigan spokesman confirmed on Sunday that coach Jim Harbaugh’s usual media availability on Monday will not take place with the possibility that it moves to midweek without any resolution about the game this weekend.
Monday was the earliest the team could get back on to the practice field, according to University of Michigan medical professionals.
The initial decision to pause activities and cancel the Maryland game were made with the intent to corral the rise in COVID-19 cases in hopes that the Wolverines could finish out the season.
“We hope to play as we hope to play every game this year,” Manuel said last week. “Any time in our league that has stopped thus far had the goal of playing every game this year. It is disheartening that we are not going to be able to play Maryland. Our hope is that we can play Ohio State and finish the season in the final week.”
Ohio State played its most recent game against Michigan State on Saturday and has now played five total games. Under the current Big Ten rules, the Buckeyes would need to play this final game against Michigan to gain eligibility to play in the Big Ten Championship game against Northwestern.
The rule states teams must play six games this season to gain eligibility for the championship game, unless the league average number of games played falls below six, which it has not currently fallen below that threshold. However, according to sources, Big Ten athletic directors will meet Wednesday, where they could discuss changing the benchmark.
If Michigan does cancel the game, Indiana would be the East division’s representative in the conference championship game, unless the conference were to alter the rules.