If college football is going to complete the 2020 season, every conference will need to be flexible when it comes to scheduling opponents.
Earlier today, the Pac-12 canceled the Cal-Arizona State and Utah-UCLA games due to COVID-19 issues. Fortunately, the conference has come up with an interesting solution to avoid penalizing the programs that aren’t dealing with an outbreak.
It turns out that Cal will face UCLA this Sunday. That’s right, we’ll get to witness Pac-12 football throughout the weekend.
“The Pac-12 announced today that Cal will now play at UCLA on Sunday, November 15 at 9:00am PT,” the conference said in a statement. “The scheduling of this game is consistent with the Conference’s commitment to provide opportunities for student-athletes through maximum scheduling flexibility while still prioritizing health and safety.”
Kickoff for the Cal-UCLA game will begin at 12 p.m. ET on FS1.
This is a really smart decision by the Pac-12, as it’ll allow Cal and UCLA to compete this weekend without losing one of their six conference games this year.
In addition to scheduling a showdown between Cal and UCLA for this Sunday, the Pac-12 is pushing back next Friday’s Oregon-UCLA matchup to Saturday, November 21.
There’s no sugarcoating the fact that college football is getting crushed by COVID-19 this month. However, minor tweaks to the schedule like this might just keep the season afloat.
UPDATE: Statement below regarding new scheduled #Pac12FB game this Sunday, Nov. 15 between Cal & UCLA:
➡️ @CalFootball at @UCLAFootball
🗓️ Sunday, Nov. 15
⏰ 9am PT | 12pm ET
📺 FS1 | @CFBONFOXpic.twitter.com/RgQFBaIP9X
— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) November 13, 2020
“>[Pac-12 Football]