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Eight games, following an extraordinarily lengthy calendar of preseason practices, is enough to get a read on a coach's general demeanor exclusive to that season.

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What would you have envisioned of Brent Venables' comportment if, back in the summer, you were informed of the avalanche of attrition that would commence at the start of camp (no Justin Foster or Xavier Thomas) and continue through the season, culminating with the almost comical list of injuries (we're guessing you don't need a full accounting of it) that came over a four-hour stretch in South Bend?

He and the rest of the coaches spent the summer preparing for the contagiousness of a virus. So leave it to 2020 to produce an injury bug that's wreaked the ultimate havoc to date.