The wait is (almost) over. Big Ten football opens Friday night with Illinois visiting Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium. The uniforms and coaches will look familiar … but not much else.
Wisconsin will have no jubilant, boozy “Fifth Quarter.” The Badgers won’t have any spectators, not even players’ families. The school announced last week that because of rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the state, only essential personnel will be let in.
Ohio State and Nebraska pushed the hardest for a Big Ten restart and got their wish. They will meet Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, where the Buckeyes are nearly four-touchdown favorites.