If you’re an Appalachian State student, alumni, or fan, football season is always something to look forward to. There’s nothing like home games at the always packed Kidd Brewer Stadium and seeking continued dominance of the Sun Belt Conference. But another thing that everyone also looks forward to every fall is the big game. Every season, Appalachian State schedules a big-time opponent that players and fans all circle on the schedule in anticipation.

Last season it was North Carolina and South Carolina, both of which were won by the Mountaineers. In previous seasons it was Penn State, Georgia, Tennessee, Miami, Clemson, Michigan (again), Florida, among several others. Most of these games yielded very close results, with a couple going into overtime. So these games were always intriguing because the Mountaineer faithful knew we were capable of winning.

This season the Appalachian football team was scheduled to play the Wisconsin Badgers on September 19 in Madison, Wisconsin. The Badgers are always among the best teams in the country making this match-up a very exciting one for fans and players alike. But due to the unusual circumstances affecting much of 2020, the Big Ten Conference announced yesterday they will only play conference games this fall in order to be more flexible with their scheduling with the changing conditions. This means the scheduled match-up on September 19 is CANCELLED.

As of now, football season is still scheduled to go on this fall, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if things slowly get cancelled to where the season isn’t played at all. The Ivy League has already cancelled all of its fall sports, leading the charge like they did for spring sports, where other conferences followed suit one by one. If things continue to go downhill, perhaps we will see springtime football. Or perhaps we will still see football this fall. Who knows?

With the game against Wisconsin cancelled, the biggest non-conference match-up left on Appalachian State’s schedule is a game against Wake Forest on September 11 in Winston-Salem. We will have to wait and see if that game will be played as well. I’ve got a feeling it won’t as other conferences will follow the Big Ten’s actions, or possibly even the Ivy League’s. One thing is for sure, until we find out much, it’s tough to get excited about college football season this year.

Garett

App State Football No Longer Scheduled to Play Wisconsin this Fall