Northwestern's new schedule looks a lot like the old one

Northwestern's new 2020 schedule looks a lot like its old 2020 schedule.

The Wildcats picked up a game against Michigan to close the season -- and we'll bet that Wolverine fans won't like replacing traditional rival Ohio State with Northwestern on the third Saturday in November. But other than that, the schedule the Big Ten released on Wednesday morning is pretty much the same as it was previously, just in a different order.

Northwestern, like all Big Ten teams, will play only conference games in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. They will open the season on Sept. 5 and have two bye weeks, just like all other conference teams.

The Wildcats will play crossover games against East division opponents Penn State, Michigan State, Maryland and Michigan. Only Michigan is new to that inter-divisional slate. The Cats will also play all of their West division foes in the same locations, just in different weeks.

Here's a look at the new schedule:

The Big Ten also released its plan for medical protocols on Wednesday and made it clear that this schedule could go right out the window if outbreaks continue to occur.

"While the Conference remains hopeful for a September 2020 start in all fall sports, including football, issuing a schedule does not guarantee that competition will occur," the statement reads. "While our strategy is to continue planning for all fall sports, if the virus continues to spread among our students despite our many preventative measures, including testing and quarantine protocols, we are also prepared to delay or cancel competition pursuant to local and state public health orders or the recommendations of our medical experts."

Under the plan, football players will undergo polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing two times per week during competition. Testing will be conducted a third-party laboratory to ensure consistency.

"Our Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and local, state, and national experts have provided guidelines throughout our decision-making process with our student athletes’ health and safety as our first and foremost concern," said Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren in the statement. "At the same time, as we have previously communicated, any student-athletes who do not feel safe proceeding with the upcoming season as a result of the COVID-19 virus should know they have our full support and also know they will retain their scholarship."

Northwestern announced on Monday that it had "paused" its workouts in response to a player testing positive for COVID-19 that also required a reported two dozen players to be quarantined. Workouts can restart today at the earliest. The team's first contact practices are set to open Friday, per NCAA rules.

The Wildcats are one of six Big Ten programs to suspend team activities over this summer, along with Ohio State, Indiana, Michigan State, Rutgers and Maryland.