Pac-12 announces game cancellation as it kicks off the season this week

As the final Power 5 conference looks to begin its season this week, the Pac-12 has already lost a game from its schedule.

The conference announced that the Cal-Washington game would not be played because Cal doesn’t have the minimum number of players available. Like the SEC, the Pac-12 set the minimum number of scholarship players at 53. That includes seven offensive linemen, four interior defensive linemen and one quarterback.

“The Pac-12 has approved a request from Cal to cancel the Washington at Cal football game scheduled for November 7,” the Pac-12 announced. “The decision was made under the Pac-12’s football game cancellation policy due to Cal not having the minimum number of scholarship players available for the game as a result of a positive football student-athletic COVID-19 case and resulting isolation of additional football student-athletes under contact tracing protocols. Under Conference policy, the game will be declared a no contest. The health and safety of our student-athletes and all those connected to Pac-12 football programs will continue to be our No. 1 priority.”

Cal put out its own statement which shared more details, including that earlier this week marked the first positive test within the Cal football program since the start of daily testing at the beginning of October. At this time, the student-athlete who tested positive is asymptomatic.

Since student-athlete testing began on June 4, Cal Athletics has conducted 3,547 total PCR tests among all student-athletes (through Oct. 30) with 20 positive results.

Statement regarding this Saturday’s Washington at Cal #Pac12FB game: pic.twitter.com/7xxAmJvlyV

— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) November 5, 2020

Saturday’s game between Cal and Washington will not be played.

— Cal Football (@CalFootball) November 5, 2020

Keith Farner

A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.