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Fans hoping to see if Jaret Patterson could continue to improve upon his eye-popping Week 4 performance will likely be disappointed this weekend, as the Buffalo Bulls’ game with the Ohio Bobcats in Athens, Ohio, has been cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols, and declared a no-contest by the conference.
The cancellation is the third of the season in the Mid-American Conference, and the second this week, following the cancellation of Kent State vs. Miami back on Wednesday afternoon.
It’s been a bit of a chaotic day for the two teams, who were in the midst of preparting to play in a game in less than 24 hours. Jason Arkley, of SUACBobcats.com, reported on Friday afternoon that the Bobcats were “a go” after this morning’s test, but that the situation changed later in the day:
Also a possibility that the Bobcats' season is over. Kent State, the opponent on Dec. 12, also postponed its game this weekend.
— Jason Arkley (@JasonRRArkley) December 4, 2020
Ohio was a go as of this morning. Most recent round of tests, and the tracing as a result of, obviously changed that
Buffalo’s football team was in even more dire straights, as The Buffalo News’ Rachel Lenzi reported the team was already in transit when the news came down about the no-contest:
Buffalo was literally on the busses to Ohio this afternoon when they found out its game was canceled.
— Rachel Lenzi (@rachelmlenzi) December 4, 2020
It is the Bobcats’ second brush with a cancelled game due to contact tracing, as the Battle of the Bricks rivalry with Miami in Week 3 was the first no-contest of the season following an issue with Ohio’s roster.
For now, we are running under the assumption that both teams are still eligible to win the MAC East title, unless we hear otherwise from the MAC offices. As of publication, we have not heard back regarding MAC title game eligibility.
This story is developing and will be updated appropriately.