Report: Pac-12 could be reduced to 11 teams in 2020 fall season

Since the Big Ten’s decision to play a fall season, many have looked to the Pac-12 to see if all Power 5 conferences will end up playing football in 2020.

Friday was the reported deadline for an Oct. 31 start to be approved. That deadline came and went, but Dan Patrick shared Saturday that he’s “hearing from [a] source that Pac-12 will begin playing football on Nov. 7 and teams will play 6 games, followed by championship weekend in which every team plays in seeded format like Big Ten.”

Those conference plans could be complicated, however, according to a 247Sports report.

R.J. Abeyita reports that Stanford has emerged as “lead dissenter” on return to football:

[S]ources from within the conference are saying the primary objector posing the most formidable impediment is Stanford.

And sources are indicating that, if Stanford remains uncompromising, the conference could be forced to consider proceeding with a fall football season without the Cardinal.

Stanford’s issue with returning to play is reportedly less about COVID-19 and more about football players returning to campus when other students are not allowed:

The argument is that football players, as student-athletes, should not receive preferential treatment over other students – and in this case, very simply, be allowed on campus to participate in a university activity when other students are not.

It will be interesting to see if we have a Pac-12 (or Pac-11) playing football this fall.

SDS Staff

Saturday Down South reports and comments on the news around the Southeastern Conference as well as larger college football topics.