Apple Cup Trophy, Washington Huskies.
Much to the chagrin of football fans in the Evergreen State, last week’s Apple Cup game was canceled. The Washington Huskies and Washington State Cougars couldn’t play the 113th annual clash because of COVID-19 concerns at Wazzu. Now the schools have a chance for a do-over, but they need some help.
2020 has been an awful year for everyone. Maybe more so for the Pac-12 Conference. Aside from facing the same coronavirus problems as the rest of the sports world, the Pac-12, in particular, handled the situation worse than most.
The Pac-12 and Commissioner Larry Scott could use a public relations win or two. Playing the Apple Cup game would be a good start to building up goodwill among the fans.
It won’t be easy, and frankly, to make it happen will take some hard work. As much as Scott might not like it, he may have to swallow his pride to make sure as many games as possible happen this weekend.
So how do they do it?
UW is scheduled to play at Stanford on Saturday. There’s just one big catch. Santa Clara County, California, banned all contact sports for the next two weeks. Of course, the game could be moved to Husky Stadium, but hang on just a sec.
The Cougars missed their last two games, including the Apple Cup, because of COVID-19. WSU Head Coach Nick Rolovich insists his team will be ready to play USC this weekend. There’s just one catch. Even though the Pac-12 moved the game back a day to Sunday, December 6, the Trojans might not be able to play. They had to cancel their game with Colorado last week.
Stanford can’t practice, and USC status is still unknown because they may not have enough scholarship players available. Even if USC can play, Los Angeles County is under a stay at home order. The Los Angeles Colosseum might not be an option. So more than likely, the game moves to Pullman. That brings up a separate problem.
It’s not hard to imagine that local health authorities could order Stanford, USC, or both to quarantine because they left the state this weekend. That puts next week’s games in jeopardy. Why not have Stanford and USC play each other… in San Diego.
By all accounts, both Washington and Washington State are good to go. Play the Apple Cup game this weekend. It’s a staple of Pac-12 football and makes area fans happy. This is the easy part. In addition, a televised virtual Battle of the Bands as an add-on event would be really cool.
So far, San Diego County isn’t under the same restrictions as either Los Angeles or Santa Clara Counties, despite a surge in COVID-19 cases. Stanford and USC could play each other on Sunday in sunny San Diego. There is an added bonus by moving the game that far south.
San Diego State is scheduled for a Mountain West game against Colorado State. The Pac-12 should have a better handle on the situation by Tuesday. Pay SDSU and the Mountain West to keep the Aztecs available this weekend.
That way, if either USC or Stanford can’t play, there is a replacement in the wings, San Diego State. Last week, the Aztecs used a COVID-19 induced bye week to take on Colorado. They know the drill.
There has been a bevy of cancellations in the MWC recently. Both Boise State and San Jose State might not be able to play this weekend. It shouldn’t be a problem to re-route Colorado State to any other conference site that isn’t Hawai’i. Even if the Rainbow Warriors are the odd team out, they were coming to the mainland anyway this week, so playing at another Mountain West school shouldn’t pose a big logistical issue.
The Pac-12 has three big weapons at their disposal to make this all happen; money, clout, and their own television network. Concessions can (and should) be made to guarantee the Mountain West Conference and any affected schools are adequately compensated.
Pac-12 – Make it happen.
What do you think about Washington and Washington State playing this weekend? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.