Pac-12 Unveils Final Weekend Of COVID Shorten Football Season; Cal Takes On Arizona, Stanford Plays UCLA
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF/AP) -- Cal was hoping Sunday that enough players will emerge from the COVID protocol this week to allow the team to meet Arizona in a final Pac-12 Conference weekend showdown.
The Golden Bears had their nationally televised game against Washington State cancelled just hours before kickoff Saturday after a player tested positive for COVID and several of his teammates were forced to go into the contact protocol.
Cal didn't have enough healthy players to allow the game to be played. The Golden Bears-Arizona game was one of a final weekend games announced by the league Sunday.
Other contests will include Washington at No. 16 Southern California in the Pac-12 championship game.
Oregon will face No. 21 Colorado at Memorial Coliseum in Southern California on Saturday. The winner of that game could slide into a rescheduled title game if the Trojans or Huskies are unable to play due to COVID-19 issues.
Saturday's games also include Washington State at Utah, Stanford at UCLA, and Arizona State at Oregon State. Arizona will face California at a site and time to be determined. The Wildcats fired coach Kevin Sumlin on Saturday following a blowout loss to Arizona State.
The Pac-12 left the schedule for the final weekend of the season open to have flexibility in a year when the coronavirus pandemic has led to cancellations and postponements across the country.
USC earned a spot in the Pac-12 title game for the first time since 2017 by rallying to beat rival UCLA 43-38 on Saturday.
Washington earned its third Pac-12 North title in five years with a 38-21 win over Colorado.
The conference went to a home-hosted model for the championship game this season.