It was announced on Tuesday by the Wisconsin football Twitter account that the Badgers would be sitting out their second game in a row, this time a Nov. 7 matchup against Purdue, due to an increase of positive COVID-19 tests.
The release said that there are now 27 active cases of COVID-19 within the team since Oct. 24, a number that includes 15 student-athletes and 12 staff members.
“I share in the disappointment of our student-athletes and staff,” Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez said in a statement. “We have seen a level of improvement in our testing numbers, but not enough to give us confidence to resume normal activities and play our game on Saturday. We will continue to test regularly, take the proper health-related precautions and look forward to getting our team back on the field as soon as possible.”
In the statement, it said that Wisconsin initially paused team activities on Oct. 28 and that they have remained paused. The program will have another update this Saturday.
This is the second game that the Badgers have had canceled due to positive COVID-19 cases, with the first coming this past Saturday against Nebraska. In the lead up to that game, it was discovered that starting quarterback Graham Mertz, as well as backup quarterback Chase Wolf, tested positive, along with Wisconsin head coach. Paul Chryst.
This cancellation leaves Wisconsin with six games on the regular season schedule, the minimum threshold required to compete for a division title without other stipulations from in-division opponents. With a 21-day suspension for players following a positive COVID test, the Badgers’ next game against Michigan on Nov. 14 may also be question.
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