Two Pac-12 football games cancelled as virus problems linger

The Pac-12’s football schedule has been scrambled for a second straight week, with positive COVID-19 tests leading to the cancellation of Saturday’s California at Arizona State and Utah at UCLA games.

Instead, Cal will play UCLA on Sunday at the Rose Bowl. The game will kick off at 9 a.m. PT and the teams will have had less than two full days to prepare for each other. In a season where every plan is tentative, the Pac-12’s quick adjustment is unprecedented.

Friday’s announcements from the West Coast capped the most tumultuous week of COVID-19 disruptions of the college football season. Fifteen of the 59 games (25%) originally scheduled for Week 11 were called off.

The Sun Devils’ home opener was nixed because of several positive COVID-19 tests among the team’s players and coaching staff, including head coach Herm Edwards. The school said the positive tests put the football team below 53 available scholarship players, which is the minimum allowed according to the league’s cancellation policy.

“The cancellation of a game is very difficult to accept for all of us, but it is the right decision under the circums t ances,” Arizona State athletic director Ray Anderson said in a statement. “In every case we continue to consider the health, safety and welfare of our student-athletes as our number one priority.”

Later Friday, Utah also determined it didn’t have the minimum number of scholarship players available for the game because of positive COVID-19 cases and the resulting isolation of players under contact tracing protocols.

A few hours later, the Pac-12 announced Cal would play at UCLA and next week’s UCLA at Oregon game would be bumped back from Friday to Saturday.

“It’s an unconventional year and we’re excited to host the Bears at the Rose Bowl on Sunday,” UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond said.

Meanwhile, the Southeastern Conference announced it will use Dec. 19, the day of its conference championship game, as a make-up date for regular-season games. The SEC postponed four games