Ohio State and Northwestern have eliminated the final tests of COVID-19 before Saturday’s game at the Big Ten football championship in Indianapolis, sources told ESPN.
Players and coaches from both teams had to pass a final layer of mandatory test of the conference on Friday after arriving in Indianapolis. A source said No. 14 Northwest came out “100% clean.” Northwestern has not reported any positive testing of COVID-19 by a player or coach all season.
The state of Ohio also cleared the evidence. The Buckeyes quarterbacks typically release their state report on Friday, but pushed the report back to Saturday before the start of noon. Ohio State played without 23 players for several reasons in its most recent game, with a Dec. 5 win over Michigan State. The team has not identified any positive players or coaches, except coach Ryan Day, who missed the Michigan State game while recovering and has returned to his duties.
The Big Ten rules require that any player who tests positive for COVID-19 lose a minimum of 21 days.