Stanford opens camp at Woodside

The revised coronavirus guidance for higher education in California is 37 pages of restrictions, suggestions and, one could argue, obfuscations.

But scroll down- downdown, to the bottom of the 36th page, and you’ll find the sentence that matters more than any other for Pac-12 football teams:

“Discontinuation of practice with contact and competition for the rest of the season may be considered by local health departments if more than 10% of athletes on a team test positive within a 14-day period.”

Cal, Stanford, UCLA and USC have a path through the seven-game season that begins Nov. 7, but it’s hardly free of obstacles or overflowing with clarity. Their journey begins today with the start of training camp, at least for three teams.

USC and UCLA have received approval from state and county health officials for the full- contact, largecohort practices needed to prepare for the season openers.

Stanford has state approval but not Santa Clara County clearance and will open camp today at nearby Woodside High in San Mateo County.

As of Thursday evening, Cal remained hopeful that it would be cleared to start camp today but had not finalized plans with the city of Berkeley, according to a spokesperson.

With the daily antigen testing in place, the state guidance allows teams to practice in large groups of 75 and “to the extent possible” smaller cohorts of 25.

While not ideal for a sport carries 90-man rosters, produces constant injuries and requires a barrage of substitutions during a multi-hour workout, the guidance is nonetheless manageable.