As COVID spikes across the country and surges through college football, it was only a matter of time before UB saw cancellations of its own.
UB Athletics announced Friday afternoon the Bulls wouldn’t be playing against the Ohio Bobcats due to positive COVID tests and subsequent contact tracing within Ohio’s program.
The news was disappointing for a UB squad fresh off a dominant 70-41 win over then-undefeated Kent State. After receiving national attention for Jaret Patterson’s record-breaking performance, the Bulls were hitting on all cylinders. But a stoppage like this is out of UB’s control.
Out of 5,155 conducted tests, the football program had three positive results, one student-athlete and two student-staff members.
For players and coaches that have followed testing and COVID protocols, positives from another school and having a game taken away hurts.
“The guys were disappointed, they put a lot of work and time in,” head coach Lance Leipold said. “With everything these young men have gone through since March, I don’t think anything overly surprises them.”
Athletic director Mark Alnutt agreed with Leipold, saying the disappointment is just another reality of 2020.
“There’s disappointment, there’s also frustration on our end and part of the frustration is just understanding the environment that we’re in and this world that we're living in,” Alnutt said.
The Bulls were about two hours into the bus ride to Athens, OH when Ohio called and delivered the news. UB had to turn the busses around and head back to Buffalo.
As UB won’t play this weekend, the conversation shifted to the bigger picture.
Despite the Bulls being the only undefeated team in the MAC, the team hasn’t clinched the MAC East just yet.
The Bulls have steamrolled through every opponent, winning games by an average margin of just over 26 points. While no confirmation has been made, it seems a MAC East Championship is inevitable.
As seen throughout college football, cancellations and missed games can contribute to a team not being eligible to play in its conference championship game. Wisconsin and Ohio State have come very close to ineligibility because of canceled games, a risk UB wants to avoid at all costs.
While the MAC has not informed UB of a MAC East clinch, there’s no reason UB shouldn’t make the trip to Detroit, regardless of how many games it’s played.
“We’re gonna go through the weekend and let the games play out on Saturday, staying in communication with the Mid-American Conference. What we’ve done as a program and what we’ve been able to do warrants that opportunity [to play in the MAC Championship],” Alnutt said. “Obviously we have a great case to be MAC East Champs.”
UB also hopes to make-up Saturday’s scheduled contest. Both Leipold and Alnutt emphasized how deserving the players are of the closest thing to a full season as possible. UB wants to schedule a make-up game as well as compete in the MAC championship, giving the players seven games of competition, the best-case scenario in a COVID-hindered MAC football season.
“I’m especially biased that I think this group deserves those two opportunities for the outstanding job they’ve done on and off the field,” Leipold said.
The Bulls’ efforts on the field have been well-documented, but off the field, UB has done everything in its power to play football. While COVID has hindered other teams’ opportunities to play, the Bulls steered clear of any team-related stoppages.
Through distancing the locker room, limiting the number of players allowed to enter the building at one time and having players wear masks at all times off the field, UB has been practically COVID-free thus far.
“They’ve done a great job with what we’ve asked them to do and it’s worked so far,” Leipold said. “We hope we can continue that way down to the final stretch of the season
“I feel extremely proud of the job that we’re doing. As coaches and athletic directors, we live test by test, but so far, knocking on wood, we’ve been able to do all the right things here,” Alnutt said.
The undefeated Bulls hope to face Akron at UB Stadium Dec.12.
Anthony DeCicco is the Senior Sports Editor and can be reached at anthony.decicco@ubspectrum.com and on Twitter @DeCicco42
Anthony DeCicco is the Editor-in-Chief of The Spectrum. His words have appeared in outlets such as SLAM Magazine andSyracuse.com. In 2020, he was awarded First Prize for Sports Column Writing at the Society of Professional Journalists' Region 1 Mark of Excellence Awards. In his free time, he can be found watching ‘90s Knicks games and reading NFL Mock Drafts at 3 a.m.
