Pac-12 Approves Scheduling of Nonconference Football Games amid Pandemic

The Pac-12 announced Thursday that it has approved its schools playing nonconference football games this season if certain parameters are met.

Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic tweeted the statement:

Should a COVID-19 outbreak prevent a team from playing its scheduled game for the remainder of this season, the Pac-12 is giving the opponents of those teams permission to seek out nonconference games as long as that opponent agrees to adhere to Pac-12 testing protocols, plays the game on the road and allows the game to be televised by a Pac-12 TV partner.

If another Pac-12 team becomes available as an opponent by Thursday of the week that game is scheduled, however, the scheduling of a new conference game takes precedence over the nonconference one.

The Pac-12 started later than the other Power Five conferences amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and with a six-game conference schedule for each team in place, teams can ill afford to miss out on any games.

While teams with an extensive number of coronavirus cases have no choice but to sit, the Pac-12 has now expanded the options available to the teams that were supposed to be their opponents.

Last week, neither UCLA nor California were able to play their scheduled games. Cal vs. Arizona State and Utah vs. UCLA and were both canceled after COVID-19 outbreaks within the Arizona State and Utah programs.

However, Cal and UCLA were healthy enough to play. The two, who were not originally scheduled to meet this season, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Sunday, with the Bruins beating the Golden Bears 34-10.

The Pac-12 faces an uphill climb when it comes to having a team chosen for the College Football Playoff since its teams will play fewer games than teams from the SEC, Big 12, Big Ten and ACC.

One team that may have a chance is the Oregon Ducks, who are 2-0 and ranked No. 11 in the nation. If Oregon runs the table and wins the Pac-12 title, the selection committee may not be able to pass it up as a CFP team.

By giving teams the option to play a nonconference game when a conference game cannot be played, the Pac-12 is keeping hope alive for teams like Oregon to reach the CFP or play in a big bowl game even if one of its games has to be canceled because of COVID-19.