U.Md.-Michigan football game called off

The Terrapins and Wolverines will not face each other on the gridiron this Saturday as the University of Michigan is halting its in-person football activities amid rising cases of COVID-19 among student-athletes.

In a statement Wednesday, the University of Maryland said Saturday’s game will not be rescheduled, but the team is still scheduled to host Rutgers on Saturday, Dec. 12.

A spokesman for the University of Michigan said the decision to cancel the game was made to protect their student-athletes, coaches and staff.

“We have seen an increase in the number of student-athletes unavailable to compete due to positive tests and associated contact tracing due to our most recent antigen and PCR testing results,” said Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel.


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Michigan has paused in-person football activities until at least Monday.

This is the third time Maryland (2-2) has had a game canceled this season, The Associated Press reported. Matchups against Ohio State and Michigan State were wiped out last month after the Terrapins had 23 positive tests for COVID-19, including head coach Michael Locksley.

Maryland has played only one game since defeating Penn State on Nov. 7, losing last week at Indiana. The Terps are scheduled to wrap up the regular season next Saturday at home against Rutgers.

So far, six games scheduled for this weekend have been postponed or canceled, including Washington State at No. 17 Southern California, which was pushed back two days from Friday to Sunday.

In the previous three weeks, 52 games were canceled or postponed, about 29% of what was scheduled.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Zeke Hartner

Zeke Hartner is a digital writer/editor who has been with WTOP since 2017. He is a graduate of North Carolina State University’s Political Science program and an avid news junkie.

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