Washington out, Oregon in for Pac-12 title game
Washington pulled out of the Pac-12 football championship game due to COVID-19 issues in the Huskies program, and Oregon will now play No. 13 USC for the conference title on Friday instead.
Washington (3-1) announced Monday it is withdrawing from the championship game after determining the Huskies did not have at least 53 scholarship players available and did not meet the minimum number of scholarship athletes at specific positions.
Huskies coach Jimmy Lake said the entire team is isolating as a precaution and another round of testing for the entire team is scheduled today. Lake said Washington did not expect to have any offensive linemen — scholarship players or walk- ons — available to play this week because of positive tests and contact tracing.
Washington’s protocol requires consecutive days of no new positive tests before the team can resume football activities.
“We cannot play, and we cannot practice,” Lake said. “We have not practiced since last Wednesday, our offensive line is completely unavailable until the following week. There is no way we could wait at all. We cannot play football. We couldn’t play football last week, and we cannot play football this week.”
Washington had to cancel its game last weekend against Oregon (3-2) that would have determined the Pac-12 North champion due to COVID-19.
Washington was named Pac-12 North champ by virtue of having a better winning percentage than Oregon.
Now the Ducks, the preseason Pac-12 favorites, will take a two-game losing streak into the title game, and Colorado is left without an opponent.
The Pac-12 scheduled games for its teams not involved in the championship and had planned to have Oregon and Colorado (4-1, 3-1 Pac-12), second to USC in the South, meet Saturday at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
If USC had not been able to play, Colorado would have been its replacement.
There are no Pac-12 teams available for CU to play. On Sunday, just a few hours after the Pac-12 released its final-week matchups, the game between Arizona and Cal was canceled due to virus-related issues with both schools.
Colorado could schedule another game outside the conference for Saturday, but the Buffaloes also need to remain on standby for the Pac-12 title game until later in the week.
Lake said the Huskies hope to be back in their facility by Monday and want to play in a bowl game. Lake estimated the Huskies could be able to play in a bowl game the final week of December.
Meanwhile, Stanford on Sunday became the first Pac12 team to say that it will not play in a bowl if invited. The Atlantic Coast Conference has already had three schools — Boston College, Pittsburgh and Virginia — announce they will opt out of bowl season.
In the Southeastern Conference, No. 10 Georgia’s final homecoming of the season against Vanderbilt was canceled because the Commodores fell below roster minimums due to COVID-19 protocols.
VANDY HIRES NOTRE DA E ASSISTANT >> Vanderbilt has hired Notre Dame defensive coordinator Clark Lea as its new football coach, bringing back a Nashville native and former Commodores fullback to revive the program.
Lea will be introduced next week at a news conference. He currently is busy helping No. 2 Notre Dame (10- 0) prepare to play No. 4 Clemson on Saturday.
T he 38- year- old Lea played baseball at Birmingham-Southern and Belmont before walking on as a fullback at Vanderbilt, where he played from 2002- 04. He started coaching at UCLA and also has coached at South Dakota State, Bowling Green, Syracuse and Wake Forest.
EX- GEORGIA QB ATH I S TRANSFERRING TO TE PLE >> Georgia season- opening quarterback D’Wan Mathis will transfer to Temple, he announced Monday on social media.
A native of Michigan, Mathis was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2018. He originally committed to Ohio State but changed his mind when Justin Fields announced he was leaving Georgia after his freshman season. Fields wound up with the Buckeyes.
A redshirt freshman, Mathis went 8- of-17 passing for 55 yards and one interception against Arkansas on Sept. 26 before being replaced during the game by junior Stetson Bennett. USC transfer JT Daniels then emerged as the starter with Mathis falling further on the depth chart. EX-BAYLOR COACH BRILES RESIGNS HIGH SCHOOL POST; TEXAS TECH NEXT? >> Former Baylor coach Art Briles resigned as head coach at Mount Vernon High School in Texas, fueling speculation he will pursue a return to college football, possible at Texas Tech.
Texas Tech fired offensive coordinator David Yost as coach Matt Wells responded to a pair of subpar seasons by cutting ties with one of the assistants he brought from Utah State. The Red Raiders (4- 6) finished their fifth straight losing season with a win over winless Kansas on Dec. 5.