USA TODAY Sports staff
Published 1:11 p.m. ET Dec. 10, 2020 | Updated 7:15 p.m. ET Dec. 10, 2020
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Oregon’s regular-season finale against Washington will be joining a long list of canceled FBS games this season.
The Ducks (3-2) and Huskies (3-1) game scheduled for Saturday at Autzen Stadium is canceled and declared a no contest, the Pac-12 Conference announced Thursday.
Washington announced Thursday that all football-related activities remained paused because of an increase in positive COVID-19 tests within the program. The team’s practice was canceled for the second consecutive day.
The conference said the Huskies can’t meet the Pac-12’s minimum threshold of 53 healthy scholarship players — including at least one quarterback, seven offensive linemen and four defensive linemen — for the game to be played.
The no contest appears to make Washington — which has not played a road game all season due to cancellations but has the highest winning percentage (.750) in the North — the division winner by default and advances the Huskies to the Dec. 18 Pac-12 championship game.
Oklahoma sooner schooner (Photo: Kevin Jairaj, USA TODAY Sports)
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Oklahoma gets bye before Big 12 title game
Oklahoma’s football team will have a bye week before the Big 12 championship game after all.
The Sooners’ game at West Virginia scheduled this Saturday and already postponed once two weeks ago due to COVID-19 issues on Oklahoma’s end was canceled after the Mountaineers shut down football operations for seven days because of the virus.
Also Thursday, the Big 12 announced the Texas-Kansas game scheduled for Saturday in Lawrence, Kansas, was canceled. This is the second time that game was called off. The issue is a COVID-19 shutdown at Texas.
No. 12 Oklahoma will play No. 11 Iowa State for the Big 12 title Dec. 19 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. That game will kick off at noon ET.
The College Football Playoff pairings and any unannounced bowl invitations will be made on Dec. 20.
Boston College opts out of bowl
Boston College players have decided not to play in a bowl game this season despite the Eagles’ 6-5 record and successful start under first-year coach Jeff Hafley, the school said Thursday.
Emphasizing mask-wearing and social-distancing has helped the program have just one positive test for COVID-19 since returning to campus in June and be one of just three ACC teams to complete their regular-season schedule before this Saturday.
“Our student-athletes have sacrificed so much since June to even make this season possible for BC and our fans and now it is time for them to focus on finishing up the semester strong and going home to spend time with their families and loved ones,” said athletics director Pat Kraft.
Said Hafley, “I can’t thank our players enough for the sacrifice and commitment they showed to each other, to our team and to our community.”
“People may not fully understand just how grueling this season was and our team needs and deserves an extended break to help recharge their minds and bodies.”
Boston College is the first program to publicly opt out of bowl play during a year when the postseason will be dramatically changed by the pandemic. The number of bowl games has already dropped from 43 to 33 and may shrink further before the end of the regular season on Dec. 19.
Bowl games that are played will likely feature none of the traditional banquets and festivities that typically run in the week leading into kickoff. Instead, teams are expected to treat bowl games like a normal road trip, arriving as late as the night before the game and leaving after the final whistle.
The College Football Playoff semifinals are scheduled for Jan. 1, with the national championship game set for Monday, Jan. 11.
LSU imposed a one-year bowl ban Wednesday for the 2020-21 season as part of the program’s suggested penalties for NCAA violations under former coach Les Miles and current coach Ed Orgeron.
Baylor closes football facility
Baylor, which is scheduled to play Oklahoma State at home on Saturday, announced Thursday that it is shutting down its football operation.
“At this time and in the interest of our student-athletes, coaches, and staff, we have temporarily closed our football facility and are taking all possible precautions,” athletics director Mack Rhoades said in a statement.
He added the school’s “focus” is on still playing.
Texas Tech closes facility
The Texas Tech football team managed to play its entire 2020 schedule without having a game postponed or canceled. But Tech coach Matt Wells missed last week’s finale, and now another wave of COVID-19 cases has prompted Tech to close the Football Training Facility for the next several days.
Tech announced Thursday that, in addition to Wells, eight other members of its coaching staff, other support personnel who use the Football Training Facility and one player have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past seven days.
All were considered active cases as of Thursday. The Red Raiders’ regular season is over, but even at 4-6 they would be eligible for a bowl game under new rules put in place for COVID-19 issues.
Contributing: Eugene (Ore) Register-Guard, Lubbock (Texas) Avalanche-Journal, Oklahoma City Daily Oklahoman, Paul Myerberg
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