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Intrepid Pac-12 reporter Jon Wilner broke some significant news this morning when he reported that the conference — which had previously announced that this upcoming football season would feature only league opponents — has settled on a 10-game schedule.
The season is scheduled to start on Sept. 19, and each team will play five games against its division opponents and five games against teams from the other division, one more than was originally planned. For the Washington State Cougars, that would mean adding either the USC Trojans or Arizona Wildcats. (I know which one I prefer!) According to Wilner, everyone’s schedules are expected to be released by the end of next week.
There’s plenty of wiggle room built in. There are reportedly two bye weeks for each team; the conference has given itself all the way until Dec. 19 to play the Pac-12 Championship Game; and the league is apparently prepared to go down to as few as eight games, if necessary.
Training camps would open up in mid-August, about three weeks from now, but some coaches are skeptical:
Significant scoop from @wilnerhotline .. Sources have told me that several Pac-12 coaches said they think the start of this season needs to be delayed even later than this tentative date. https://t.co/Y7z7K7uJNz
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) July 23, 2020
To be honest, I’m not sure why coaches would think that. Maybe they think they need more practices, since most of them didn’t get spring ball? Unless they’re just trying to play amateur epidemiologist like the rest of us. That’s probably it.
Links
Washington State Football: Ranking the Toughest Games on the Cougars' Schedule
Here is a ranking of the games from easiest to most difficult on the Washington State Cougars' football schedule in 2020.
Former Washington State center Aron Baynes recovering from COVID-19 | SWX Right Now - Sports for Spokane, CdA, Tri-Cities, WA
Aron Baynes, the former Washington State big man and eighth-year NBA player, revealed Wednesday why he's stayed home in Arizona while his Phoenix Suns prepare to restart play in the Orlando, Florida, bubble.
Washington State football pair up for kicking honors | Sports | lmtribune.com
PULLMAN — Washington State placekicker Blake Mazza, a finalist last year for the Lou Groza Award, made the watch list for the 2020 edition of that honor Wednesday, while Cougars
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Former star Washington State forward Morgan Weaver and her Portland Thorns FC team were knocked out in the semifinals of the NWSL Challenge Cup on Wednesday, losing 1-0 to the
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Six schools have failed to meet the bar for transparency when it comes to disclosing the results of coronavirus tests among athletes.
Who takes over if your head coach has to quarantine in season? – The Athletic
The expected move we think is offensive coordinator Brian Smith, who is very close to Nick Rolovich from their time at Hawaii two decades ago.