Ezra Shaw/Getty ImagesBY: LEIGHTON SCHNEIDER, ABC NEWS
(NEW YORK) — Oregon is replacing Washington in the Pac-12 championship game against USC, the conference announced on Monday.
The Pac-12 Championship game will be played on Friday at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles.
Washington would have been under the 53-player minimum threshold because of positive coronavirus tests and isolation of players due to contact tracing.
Washington had its last game cancelled against Oregon for the same reason.
“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,” said head coach Jimmy Lake in a statement. “Unfortunately, the virus is in our footprint. 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, 3-2, finished with the second best record in the Pac-12 North division.
USC, 5-0, finished first in the Pac-12 South division.
The Ducks were scheduled to play Colorado this weekend. It is unclear if Colorado will have a new opponent.
Oregon is the reigning Pac-12 champions having beat Utah 37-15 last year.
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