Pac-12 football could be right around the corner

It’s been a wild week for college football.

More games were played.

More conferences joined the action.

More players missed games because of COVID-19.

More games were postponed.

And now this: The Big Ten announced that it will play a nine-game football season that will begin Oct. 24.

Just six weeks ago, Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said that there would be no college football this fall and that decision “will not be revisited,” but here we are.

The Pac-12 announced six weeks ago that it will not play any sporting events before Jan. 1, 2021, but that decision appears to be in doubt as well. Breakthroughs in access to rapid testing have opened the door for a football season this fall.

Pac-12 presidents will meet Friday and there’s a real possibility that they will hold a vote on whether to schedule a football season. The meeting was scheduled before the Big Ten’s decision was made.

But there are still hurdles in the Pac-12’s way that the Big Ten didn’t have to face.

Some of the biggest hurdles are the social distancing restrictions in place in both California and Oregon. Half of the Pac-12’s member institutions are located in those states.

The governors of those states released statements Wednesday that seemed to pave a path forward for the Pac-12.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said that “there’s nothing in our guidelines that the state put out that denies these games from happening.” He went on to say that there’s been a “misrepresentation of the facts.”

Here are Gov. Newsom's full comments related to the Pac-12, which leave a lot of questions unanswered. pic.twitter.com/3V3CHrgwjX

— Kyle Bonagura (@BonaguraESPN) September 16, 2020

Jon Wilner of The Mercury News reached out to a California health official to clarify part of the state guidelines that appear to prohibit football practices. The story ran Wednesday. (I recommend reading the full story here.)

In short, the health official said that teams could practice in a variety of ways, including 5v5, against air and using virtual reality. Full offense versus defense reps would still be in violation of the guidelines.

It’s all kind of a mess right now but Newsom also said that he hasn’t been given a plan for a return to play by the Pac-12, so there’s a chance he would grant an exception. The odds of an exception should be increased by the fact that every Pac-12 school should be testing student-athletes daily by the end of the month.

But Wilner had some good news this morning:

The restrictions in here are expected to be eased ASAP so teams can practice in the real world and only not in the Twilight Zone https://t.co/9maqyZVPln

— Jon Wilner (@wilnerhotline) September 17, 2020

There are local regulations in the way, as well.

Wednesday evening, Los Angeles County pulled its restrictions on cohorts of more than 12 practicing together. That means USC and UCLA may practice but Stanford and Cal still need clearance.

Nothing is set in stone by any means, but a Nov. 7 start may be the most likely result of Friday’s meeting. Halloween could also be on the table.

Here's a looming, complicating factor in the Pac-12 return. Some of the schools haven't been lifting or working out for months. One source estimated eight weeks needed for a safe ramp up. "If it’s not going to be COVID, our players are going to get injured another way."

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 17, 2020

Time to cross our fingers and hope for the best on Friday.