Wisconsin cancels game against Purdue amid ongoing COVID-19 outbreak

Less than a week after canceling its game against Nebraska, Wisconsin announced it is also canceling the scheduled game against Purdue due to the team's COVID-19 outbreak showing no signs of slowing down.

Last week, Wisconsin said it had 12 positive tests between players and staff, including starting quarterback Graham Mertz and head coach Paul Chryst. Since then, the number has risen to at least 27 active cases, with 15 players and 12 staff members testing positive. The team put all activities on pause indefinitely and will continue to do so until the number of cases has dropped to the point where the season could reasonably resume without fear of COVID spreading.

While Chryst will be able to return to the team on Thursday, assuming he does not test positive before then, Mertz, who had his second positive test last week, must remain away from the team due to conference protocol, which states that he will not be able to play for at least 21 days.

A second canceled game, which cannot be made up or rescheduled, puts into question whether or not Wisconsin will be able to finish its season at all. According to Big Ten rules for the season, a team must play at least six games to compete for the conference title. 

Wisconsin would need to play every game remaining on its schedule to meet that threshold, and given the state of the team, that feels increasingly unlikely. Wisconsin's next scheduled game is against Michigan on Nov. 14, giving the Badgers a little over a week and a half to get things in order.