Michigan offensive lineman Juwann Bushell-Beatty lifts the Little Brown Jug trophy, celebrating with teammates Khalid Hill, left, and Benjamin St-Juste after defeating Minnesota in Ann Arbor on Nov. 4, 2017. (AP file photo)

Expect a wild ride.

After canceling spring football, limiting and sometimes pausing offseason workouts, shutting down full-contact practices and eventually postponing the season, the league’s 14 university presidents and chancellors have given teams five weeks to accomplish what typically takes months — getting into football shape by late October for the start of a most unusual season.

“We’re going to be ready to play on (October) the 24th,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said, referring to the new opening weekend. “You know, the ramp up to that, and the 20 hours (of weekly practice), and putting on pads has been well thought out. So we’ll be ready. We’ll play with depth.”

Vocal critics of the school leaders who voted 11-3 to postpone all fall sports amid an August uptick in COVID-19 cases have been largely silenced by the unanimous vote that put Big Ten football back on the calendar alongside the ACC, Big 12 and SEC.

Michigan State wide receiver Julian Barnett makes a catch in the first quarter against Michigan in Ann Arbor on Nov. 16. The Big Ten is going to give fall football a shot after all. Less than five weeks after pushing football and other fall sports to spring in the name of player safety during the pandemic, the conference changed course Wednesday and said it plans to begin its season the weekend of Oct. 23-24. (AP file photo)

Those who play the sport, teach the sport and watch the sport almost universally expressed joy and relief Wednesday, knowing football will return. Like those other conferences, though, Big Ten football will look different in many ways.

Stadiums will be mostly empty and tickets will not be sold to the public. The season has been reduced from 12 games to eight with the opportunity for a ninth around the Dec. 19 conference championship game.

The Big Ten can finish in time to be in the playoff mix and bowls hunt. Friday night telecasts are likely to return while traditional Thanksgiving weekend rivalries, such as Michigan-Ohio State and Indiana-Purdue, could find new dates. And then there’s the cross-division finish against a Week 9 opponent yet to be determined.

“I have to give (Michigan coach) Jim Harbaugh a lot of credit as he was the one that came up with that idea,” Indiana coach Tom Allen said. “We talked for a long time about how we decide who that ninth game is against, whether it was a blind draw against somebody from the other division. But he came up with the way to have parity in that last game. That is where we came up with the No. 7 plays No. 7 and so on.”