Earlier this week when rumblings of positive Covid-19 cases started trickling out of the University of Washington football program it was pretty well assumed Saturday’s match-up between Oregon and Washington would be canceled.
And it was, officially, on Thursday by the Pac-12.
Oregon Athletic Director Rob Mullens released a statement confirming the games cancelation.
“The health and safety of all student-athletes is always the top priority, and our thoughts are with those at Washington and everywhere who have been impacted by the virus,” said Mullens. “We are disappointed for our Oregon football student-athletes who have done everything right and who have been fully committed to all safety protocols from the start.
“Our team was excited for the opportunity to play for the Pac-12 North Division title this weekend in this great rivalry, and we will continue to practice in anticipation of our next game.”
Now, the conspiracy theorists throughout the state of Oregon are certainly spinning yarns today because the cancelation gives the Huskies the top spot in the North Division and therefore the opportunity to play for the Pac-12 title the following weekend.
At least for now, those hated Huskies to the north have backed into the conference championship game without having to play their rivals to the south who have won the last two games and 14 of the last 16 meetings.
Of course, this wasn’t a calculated decision by the Huskies. Calmer heads and all of us living in today’s reality understand that.
The Covid-19 virus is real. It’s dangerous and has taken the lives of nearly 300,000 Americans to date.
That said, there are no doubt sports conspiracy theorists out there in the Pacific Northwest who are currently spinning tales of the Huskies ‘winning by subtraction.’
This is the statement the University of Washington released Thursday.
“I’m so disappointed for everyone involved here” said Husky Athletic Director Jennifer Cohen. “Every year our student-athletes, coaches, staff, and Husky Nation circle this game on our calendar and so look forward to this amazing rivalry. The student-athletes from both schools have worked so hard, and I’m just really disheartened we are at this point where we are unable to play due to our COVID-19 positives within the program, but we will always put the health and well-being of our students, coaches and staff as our greatest priority when making decisions.”
According to the Pac-12, the Husky football program isn’t able to provide the mandatory 53 scholarship players in order to play the game against the Ducks. All football-related activities have been canceled since Wednesday.
What does it mean?
If the game were played and Oregon had won, the Ducks would have been the winner of the Pac-12 North and gone on to play the divisional champ from the South next Friday.
Now the Huskies, with a record of 3-1, will represent the North Division against either USC (4-0 ) or Colorado (3-0) who both play this weekend. USC will face UCLA at the Rose Bowl, and Colorado will take on Utah in Boulder.
If for some reason Washington isn’t able to field a team on championship weekend, the conference could give the northern crown to the Ducks who would then face either the Trojans or Buffaloes.
Another scenario would have the two Pac-12 teams with the best records play each other for the title. The USC – Colorado game scheduled weeks ago was canceled due to covid so it would be an intriguing match-up if those two were to meet.
Whatever the conference determines, it’s still disappointing for the Ducks.
They’ve gone to incredible lengths to remain healthy and focused during this shortened season. And for now, it appears they won’t have the opportunity to play for a second consecutive conference title. But losing to the Beavers and the Bears didn’t help matters either.
NOTE: Oregon, like all healthy conference programs, will get another game during championship weekend. If the Ducks end the regular season as the No. 2 team in the north, and right now they are, they’ll then play the No. 2 team in the south.
Of course that match-up would change if the Pac-12 determines they’d rather pair the two teams with the two best records against each other.