The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 27 have in place for ticketing, operations and participation." Jansen isn't surprised there's no definitive answer on ticketing at this point. There are simply too many variables to know what's on the horizon, he pointed out. "While it may not start off like the normal year, it's just like students coming back," Jansen said. "There are fits and starts. There are positive tests, there are schools that don't have any. Michigan has had two out of more than 200 tests. "When you think about getting to the stadium in the beginning of September, do we start off the season with 30,000 people? When Wisconsin comes to town and we start the Big Ten season, do we bump it up to 50,000? Can we add more as we're going, or is there a second wave and we've got to pull back?" The U-M All-American also weighed in against any restrictions on fans attending the games when it comes to age. He's more of the personal responsibility and decision- making mindset. Certainly, if Michigan Stadium capacity is to be cut in half, or something more se- vere, many desiring to watch the Wolverines in person will be left out for a year. It just shouldn't be because of the date on a birth certificate, Jansen opined. "In my opinion, that's a decision each individual would have to make," he said. "I wouldn't want to be somebody that says, 'Hey, you are 65 years old and one day, and you can't come to the game.' I would say, 'Here are the numbers. Here is what could happen. Here are the dangers.' "Then let those individuals make their own personal choice. That's where we need to head. Everybody has the information. Your decisions are only as good as the infor- mation you have. If you have the infor- mation that is most current, then each individual must de- cide." Athletes have the choice regarding participation, Jan- sen noted, and so should fans. "It's just like Warde Manuel said," he of- fered. "Nobody's going to lose their schol- arship if they don't feel comfortable in the voluntary workouts right now. They're not putting pressure on them or holding their scholarship over their head. It's their decision. "I know a lot of people who are 65, 70, 75 years old. They don't like to be told what to do. They want to be able to make their own decision. Most of them would probably say, 'I'm in the high-risk category. I probably will sit this one out, so that I can see next year, so that I can see 2025.' But, again, it's their own personal decision." Age aside, he believes fans in general will be accepting of a different autumn in terms of not experiencing some time- honored rituals. "You talk to most people and, yeah, they want to be in The Big House," Jansen said. "They want to be there on football Satur- days, with everything that goes along with it. You and I have been there for so many years, we understand how important that is to our fan base, to sports fans. It's a big moment, and it just feels good. "But you ask everybody and you say, 'Hey, would you rather have football and have to watch it on TV, or not have football at all?' Almost everybody would say, 'That's fine. Just go ahead and play the game. We'll watch it on TV. We just want to see Michi- gan take the field.'" Regarding other aspects of a potential 2020 Michigan football campaign, it's just too early to know, Jansen insisted. While some sources close to Michigan's athletics department have posited the opener at Wash- ington — involving cross-country travel — is in serious danger of cancellation, the two- time captain demurred. "I still think we're too early to make any kind of decision," he said. "I'm not going to say yes, we have that game, or no, we don't, or it doesn't look like it. We still have the benefit of time. "The one thing I do know is, you're look- ing at two completely different parts of the country. Washington and Seattle involved one of the original hot spots. Where are they, in regard to containing it?" He did note it's a game he'd love to see, if officials determine it can be played safely. Manuel explained he's in constant contact with his administrative colleagues. Whether they've discussed any changes to a potential Big Ten championship game or the College Football Playoff, he hadn't said so at press time. Jansen hopes to see the norm regarding the former, and perhaps a little tweak on the latter. "Hopefully, we'll play a full Big Ten schedule," he said. "If we do, then what do they do with the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis? Do they go to a city where there isn't a Big Ten team, or do they go by record and say whoever's got the best record is going to host the Big Ten champi- onship game? "Is it fair? No. But we're not talking about a normal year. Going back to Warde Manuel, this is not going to be a normal year, whether you're talking about fans, the schedule, a Big Ten championship, the College Football Playoff." If teams severely limit travel and play no big non-conference contests out of their area, it will be tough to shut out some peo- ple when it comes to the playoff, he argued. Because of that, Jan- sen would love to see an expansion of the Col- lege Football Playoff to six teams, at least for this season. "The reason I thought this would be a good year to expand it, even on a test case, is if you're only having con- ference games — the Big Ten only plays Big Ten games, the same with the ACC and the SEC — you have no common opponents. How can you judge one conference against another?" Jansen asked. "There are different metrics you can look at, but with no common opponents, there's no, 'Hey, this team is bet- ter than this team.' "How would you leave out one of the Power Five in a scenario in which you've Michigan director of athletics Warde Manuel has come to grips with the fact that even if football goes on as scheduled, it will be "different" than any season before. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL "It used to be, who is the starting quarterback? What's the offensive line going to look like? Now everybody wants to know, are we going to even have football? … When it comes down to it, I truly believe we are going to have football." FORMER ALL-AMERICAN JON JANSEN, NOW A U-M STAFF MEMBER