Could the Big Ten really play this fall? Did President Trump give the league some hope?

Apparently, yes is the answer to both questions.

According to the same source that told Dan Patrick the Big Ten and the Pac-12 would be shutting down just days before that happened, the Big Ten is hoping for a return to the field on Oct. 10.

“I trust him implicitly,” Patrick said when referencing his unnamed source.

So why exactly are Big Ten coaches hoping for an Oct. 10 return to the field after months of claiming a spring season is in their future? Patrick’s source says the league is aware that a spring season is unrealistic and that the conference is hoping to compete in the upcoming College Football Playoff that’s scheduled to be played starting January 1, 2021.

If you were unaware, this season, the Rose Bowl is the site of one of the College Football Playoff semifinal games.

Holding that game without the Big Ten or Pac-12 even playing this fall would likely only add to the negative publicity those conferences have received in recent weeks.

Here is Patrick’s latest report on the Big Ten, which he shared during the latest edition of “The Dan Patrick Show” on Wednesday: