Over the years, the first Saturday in September has become one of my favorite days of the year. This year that date would’ve been Sept. 5.

After a long night of covering high school football and not much sleep, because of excitement, I would’ve packed my bag, a cooler, put a few chairs in my trunk and headed toward Interstate 80 West for State College to cover the Penn State season opener.

The closer I would get, I would start to go over possible storylines in my head.

“How will the offensive line look this year?”

“Will the defense get off to a good start by showing a solid pass rush?”

“Can the quarterback take the next step this season?”

As I would approach the Bellefonte exit off I-80, my impatience always seemed to get the best of me, especially while traveling on I-99 into State College, because of the strict 55 mph speed limit. But that all went away when I was able to catch a glimpse of Beaver Stadium in the distance. I’ve made it, another year waiting patiently for one of my favorite days of the years.

The drive down Park Avenue to my parking spot off the Innovation Park exit is a sight for sore eyes. Rows and rows of cars, with grills smoking, flags flying and people laughing and talking. It’s become something that I genuinely look forward to every year like a kid does for Christmas morning.

However, that day did not come this year, and quite frankly nobody truly knows when that day will come again. The seriousness of the COVID-19 virus has affected our everyday lives like no one could ever imagine. The economy, healthcare and education system, and obviously the sports world have all been drastically impacted by this pandemic.

Today marks the unofficial start to the college football season, with 19 games slated for this afternoon and evening. Three of the five Power Five conferences - the ACC, Big 12 and SEC - have already committed to playing this fall, while the Big Ten and Pac 12 still have not come up with a plan to play games before January.

There have been rumblings for weeks that the Big Ten was looking to hold a vote to move the start of its season to early October, but nothing at the moment has come to fruition. There have been countless debates on this issue, specifically regarding the Big Ten’s decision to cancel all fall sports back on Aug. 11, so since I write the Penn State column for the Times News, I figured I would offer my opinion on the issue as well.

Here are my thoughts:

1. Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren absolutely rushed this decision. Warren said in his statement: “The decision was thorough and deliberative, and based on sound feedback, guidance and advice from medical experts.” I agree, play should not resume unless deemed safe by medical experts, but the decision was not thorough and deliberative simply based upon the reaction from players, coaches and parents, who were overwhelmingly in favor of playing this fall. Their opinions were clearly not taken into consideration.

2. Leadership and communication should be at a very high level when talking about an organization as prominent as the Big Ten. Both have been practically nonexistent since the August 11 decision to cancel fall sports. Penn State head coach James Franklin has continuously expressed his frustration with the Big Ten’s lack of communication to its member schools about important questions the Big Ten has been asked. The result has been coaches not being able to fully inform parents and players on vital issues. Since the beginning, Commissioner Warren and the Big Ten have not handled this well and the lack of communication speaks volumes on the conference’s preparedness and leadership.

3. Lastly, I still believe there is hope. Coaches, players and parents have been absolutely slamming Commissioner Warren and the Big Ten. It’s truly been a public-relations nightmare for the conference and the pressure continues to mount as schools play and practice safely. Coach Franklin and his staff have done a great job of keeping their players safe during the pandemic and I believe it’s truly the safest environment for these student athletes to be in, which I would say is the case for all college football players throughout the country. My belief is that continued pressure from coaches, players and parents will result in an October start for Big Ten football. I think a mid-October start is in play and if that happens, I believe the College Football Playoff Committee will try and include the Big Ten in the playoff if someone has the resume to qualify.