On Wednesday afternoon, the Maryland Athletics Department announced the Maryland football program will be pausing all team-related activities after eight players tested positive for COVID-19 in the past week. The decision was made jointly by University of Maryland President Darryl Pines and Athletic Director Damon Evans, according to the statement.

Maryland was scheduled to face No. 3 Ohio State in College Park this weekend. However, that game has been cancelled and will not be rescheduled. According to the Big Ten Conference’s COVID policy, any athlete who tests positive can’t return for a minimum of 21 days and also must receive clearance from a cardiologist before returning to play. Since the Terps began their daily testing regiment on Sep. 30 there were no publicly reported positive tests within the football program, until Wednesday’s announcement.

“We’re obviously extremely disappointed that we’ll be unable to host Ohio State this Saturday,” head coach Mike Locksley said. “It was an opportunity that our team was preparing for and excited about. However, we have and always will keep our players, coaches and staff’s safety at the forefront of our decision-making process. We’ll continue to operate as much as we can virtually as we monitor the situation in hopes of returning to play when it’s deemed safe.”

With Saturday’s game cancelled the Terps next scheduled game is Saturday Nov. 21 against Michigan State at Maryland Stadium.