Oregon will replace Washington in Friday’s Pac-12 Championship game against Southern California due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns in the Huskies’ program.
The Ducks (3-2) will represent the Pac-12 North against the South Division champion Trojans (5-0) in Los Angeles.
According to a league statement issued Monday, the Huskies (3-1) do not have the minimum 53 players available for the game due to “a number of positive football student-athlete COVID-19 cases and resulting isolation of additional football student-athletes under contact tracing protocols.”
Washington was also forced to cancel last Saturday’s game at Oregon.
“Our goal every season is to win the Pac-12 Championship. I am so proud of the work our team and staff have put in to position ourselves to attain that goal. Unfortunately, the virus is in our footprint,” Huskies coach Jimmy Lake said in a statement.
“We have not been able to resume football activities and currently the entirety of one of our key position groups, deemed a critical position group by the Pac-12, is in quarantine. There is no path forward to practice or play this week. Our focus now is getting everyone healthy so we can resume football activities and prepare for a possible bowl game. We are crushed that we cannot bring home the Pac-12 trophy for our fans, staff and players.”
Oregon has lost two straight games, most recently a 21-17 setback at Cal on Dec. 5.
USC overcame an 18-point, third-quarter deficit in a 43-38 win against UCLA on Saturday.
