Big Ten Rejects NU Football’s Plan to Play Saturday

Nebraska reportedly had a deal this morning to play a home football game on Saturday against Chattanooga, but the idea was quickly shot down by the Big Ten. 

Wisconsin canceled its scheduled trip to Lincoln yesterday, when the Badgers paused team activities for seven days following a COVID-19 outbreak in the program.  The Chattanooga Times Press reported NU would pay UTC “in the neighborhood of $200,000 to $250,000” for the contest. 

ESPN.com reported that Chattanooga tested its players and staff members yesterday and the results all came back negative, according to sources.  The report said UTC conducted another round of tests this morning and Nebraska was going to test the Mocs personnel tomorrow in Lincoln when they got off the plane. 

But, sources told ESPN that Nebraska notified Chattanooga by phone today that a Big Ten committee did not give its approval for the game to be played. 

Chattanooga plays in the Southern Conference, which will play the bulk of its schedule in the spring.  In their only game scheduled this fall, the Mocs lost to Western Kentucky 13-10. 

Nebraska, also 0-1, is slated to play next Saturday at Northwestern.  It’s an 11 a.m. kickoff.