Ohio State did not want to talk about it.

Even though the rumors had been swirling for days, no one in Columbus even wanted to consider the possibility that the Buckeyes’ game against Michigan could be canceled.

Just thinking about it made Kerry Coombs uncomfortable.

“You're right, I don't want to go there,” Coombs said when asked about the possibility of cancellation. “I just got sick to my stomach when you said that. We're preparing to play. I think we're going to play.”

Entering Tuesday, the plan was to get ready for Michigan-- like it has been for over 365 days.

This is the game that means the most to Ohio State. This is the game Ryan Day tells recruits about. This was supposed to be Buckeye seniors’ final chance to step on the turf at Ohio Stadium.

There was seemingly no chance that Ohio State versus Michigan, a game that had been played without a stoppage since the first World War, was going to become the next victim of COVID-19.

It just couldn't happen.

“Obviously there's speculation, but we can't think like that,” senior linebacker Pete Werner said. “We've got to go in this week knowing we're going to play a game.”

Then, it happened.

Just minutes after Werner spoke with confidence about this edition of the rivalry, sixth-year senior Justin Hilliard sat down to discuss his final battle with the Wolverines.

Hilliard was in the midst of poking some fun at his third go-round as a senior when the news was broken to him.

“What game’s been canceled?” Hilliard asked, before it finally hit him.

Understandably so, the linebacker did not want to discuss the prospects of said cancellation any further.

For Ohio State’s seniors, this game was The Game.

It was their last chance to take down That Team Up North.

“We've got to have everybody on the right track,” Werner unknowingly said. “We've got to prepare for this game harder than we ever have. That's going to be the key.”

Just before Hilliard and Werner, Ohio State’s Heisman candidate quarterback and second-year head coach voiced similar urgency.

Both appeared to have no interest whatsoever in playing with the prospect of a year without Michigan on the schedule.

“You can't worry about the future,” Justin Fields said. “You can't worry about, 'Oh, we might not play this game.' You have to take it each day at a time, and you have to prepare like you're playing the Team Up North on Saturday, so that's what we're doing.”

Day was even more straightforward than his QB.

“I try not to go there,” Day said. “Just the disappointment and all that stuff is getting old. So we'll just try to stay positive and try to focus on the game until we hear otherwise.

“You asked the question. You kind of know what the answer would be. Let's not go there. Let's just try to focus on the game and get ready to play the game until we hear otherwise.”

We soon heard otherwise.

A possibility that was so clearly erased from the minds everyone within the Ohio State football program came to life.

The unthinkable happened.

“This game's been a part of my life since I was five years old,” Coombs said. “We all want to play this game. This game means a lot. We all want to play.”

Every day in 2020 seems like a voyage into the wilderness. What comes next for Ohio State remains to be seen.

What we do know, however, is that after 103 straight years of maize and blue versus scarlet and gray on the gridiron, The Game has taken a hiatus.