The sports world has come to a screeching halt in the United States, with all of the major professional sports currently being on hold. There is hope that the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, and the National Hockey League will all be able to resume their seasons at some point in the near future.
Football isn’t scheduled to begin until this fall, but at least one prominent analyst thinks that college football could be canceled in 2020.
College football analyst Kirk Herbstreit made comments on ESPN Radio on Thursday night that will not make football fans happy. Herbstreit believes that there is a chance that both the college football and NFL seasons will have to be canceled in 2020 in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Herbstreit points out that it takes football players and teams much longer to prepare for their seasons than it does in other sports. Spring practices and training camps have been canceled throughout the country, and most college athletes aren’t even on campus anymore, and they might not be able to return for a few months.
While NCAA officials have yet to make any statements that echo Herbstreit’s sentiments, there have been plenty of doctors who would agree with his assessment.
Chief medical officer of the NCAA, Dr. Brian Hanline, recently took part in a discussion with other NCAA officials. Included in the panel was former US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, who is now a part of the NCAA Board of Governors.
Both doctors agreed that it was okay for athletes to continue training for their respective sport, but that they needed to be safe. Training with another individual is not recommended unless proper social distancing strategies are used. Athletes should never train with any balls or other equipment that is shared with anyone else.
The one advantage that college and professional football does have is that they will get to see how the other major professional sports handle the crisis. The NBA, NHL, and MLB are continuing to try to explore ideas to help their seasons resume, and they are working with their own set of doctors.
College football will be able to follow their lead in terms of what’s safe and what should not be allowed if they go on with the 2020 season.
Sportsbooks Still Taking College Football Bets
Betting on college football is the second most popular sport to bet on in the United States, and sportsbooks can’t afford to lose this sport.
Most sportsbooks are shut down throughout the country, but FanDuel Sportsbook has continued to take NCAA Football Futures bets, and they are also offering betting lines on prominent games in the 2020 regular season.
Here are the current future odds to win the 2020 NCAA Championship Game:
- Clemson +200
- Ohio State +400
- Alabama +500
- Georgia +1000
- Florida +1600
- LSU +1600
- Notre Dame +2500
- Texas +2500
- Oklahoma +3000
The Heisman Trophy Future Odds have also been set by FanDuel, and the top 10 favorites are listed below:
- Justin Fields +175
- Trevor Lawrence +450
- Spencer Rattler +1200
- D’Eriq King +1400
- Jamie Newman +1600
- Travis Etienne +1600
- Adrian Martinez +2500
- Bo Nix +2500
- Kedon Slovis +2500
FanDuel Sportsbook will keep all of these NCAA Football Futures bets active until there is a final decision made by the NCAA. They also have set some betting lines for the opening weekend games, including the huge showdown between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the USC Trojans.
Sportsbooks such as FanDuel have taken a huge hit from the coronavirus pandemic, and they are looking to football to provide a bounceback.
