Washington Huskies pull out of Pac-12 championship
SEATTLE - It's official: The Washington Huskies will not be playing in the Pac-12 championship game after all.
The decision, announced Monday, was somewhat expected after Washington Football had to cancel Saturday's big game against Oregon because of rising Covid cases. The team still doesn't have enough scholarship players to compete in this week's championship game because of positive tests and quarantine.
The conference announced its Week 7 lineup Sunday, pitting Washington against No. 16 Southern California in the Pac-12 championship Friday evening in Los Angeles. With Washington out, Oregon will take their place.
Oregon was scheduled to play Colorado in Southern California on Saturday.
"Unfortunately, the virus is in our footprint," Washington Football Head Coach Jimmy Lake said. "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.”
Washington team physician Dr. Kim Harmon said the program has continued to see positive cases over the past several days.
“This increase in cases, combined with issues with a key position group, doesn’t allow for a path forward for us this week,” Harmon said in a statement.
Washington won the Pac-12 North with a 3-1 record, despite only playing four games.
This is a developing story.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.