Michigan calls off game vs. Maryland, pauses football activities

Dec. 2 (UPI) -- The Michigan Wolverines canceled their game against the Maryland Terrapins this weekend and paused practices due to a rise in COVID-19 cases within the football program, the school announced Wednesday.

Michigan's decision to call off the matchup as well as halt in-person football activities was made in consultation with medical professionals, who will determine when the team resumes practicing.

The earliest Michigan can return to the practice field is Monday.

"The decision by our medical professionals to stop practices and cancel this Saturday's game against Maryland was made with the health, safety and welfare of the student-athletes, coaches and staff as our utmost priority," Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said in a statement Wednesday.

"We have seen an increase in the number of student-athletes unavailable to compete due to positive tests and associated contact tracing due to our most recent antigen and PCR testing results."

Michigan's showdown against Maryland was its last scheduled home game of the 2020 season. With losses in all three home games this year, this is the first time in program history that Michigan has failed to win at least one matchup at home.

Michigan (2-4) is scheduled to play No. 4 Ohio State on Dec. 12 in its final contest of the season.

Maryland (2-2) is still practicing this week and will prepare for its next game against Rutgers on Dec. 12.

Meanwhile, the Mountain West Conference canceled Friday's game between the Boise State Broncos and the UNLV Rebels because of the coronavirus. It marks the second consecutive cancellation for Boise State, which couldn't play last week against San Jose State.

Also Wednesday, Saturday's Houston-SMU matchup was postponed for a second time due to COVID-19 issues, according to multiple reports. It remains unclear whether the game can be rescheduled for a third time.