Playing in the face of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, college football has started to painfully realize the challenges.
Most Division II and Division III NCAA institutions canceled their fall sports seasons while many NCAA Division I institutions elected to “un-cancel” seasons and play, with varying degrees of success.
This Saturday’s annual Ohio State-Michigan rivalry game has been cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns on the Michigan team while the new L.A. Bowl to be played at the NFL Los Angeles Rams’ new SoFi Stadium has been cancelled due to local health restrictions. The L.A. Bowl was scheduled to host the Mountain West Conference champion.
Under current rules, Ohio State would have been ineligible to play for the Big 10 championship because it had played fewer than the mandated six games for conference eligibility — obviously a huge revenue and ratings loss.
However, conference officials voted on Wednesday to overturn that rule due to the mitigating circumstances surrounding the pandemic and allow fourth-ranked Ohio State (5-0) to play 14th-ranked Northwestern (5-1) for the conference title on Dec. 19.
Ohio State edges Indiana (6-1) for the conference finals bid with the relaxation of the minimum six-game requirement.
The entire 2020 college football season is filled with unprecedented ripples in the pigskin landscape.
A look at the Mountain West Conference football standings, entering the final week of regular season play, indicates that some member schools have played as many as seven games while others have played a few as four games due to cancelations or postponements due to players or staff testing positive for the virus.
San Diego State University improved to 4-2 in conference play, 4-3 overall, following last Saturday’s 29-17 win over Colorado State at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson.
While the Aztecs were playing their seventh game in a planned nine-game schedule, it was only the fourth game for the Rams (1-3).
Nevada-Reno (6-1), Hawaii (3-4) and SDSU all have played seven games.
SDSU had its Nov. 27 game at Fresno State canceled due to a coronavirus outbreak on the Bulldogs team. While that game will not be made up, the Aztecs did catch a break when they managed to schedule a non-conference game at Colorado that same weekend to complete their eight-game schedule this season.
SDSU is set to close out regular season play with a game this Saturday at 13th-ranked BYU (9-1 overall).
The MW championship game is scheduled Dec. 19. The two teams with the best winning conference percentage will pair up for the 2020 title. Both San Jose State (5-0) and Boise State (4-0, 4-1 overall) remain undefeated in conference play and appear to be the front-runners to qualify, though Nevada-Reno remains in the running.
San Jose State and Nevada close out regular season play this weekend in a must-win game for both teams.
The Aztecs have already been eliminated from championship consideration and will have to hope for selection to a postseason bowl game. With the cancelation of the L.A. Bowl, the Mountain West now has tie-ins to only three bowl games.
The Arizona Bowl will now host the MW champion. Other bowl tie-ins include the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl and the New Mexico Bowl.
SDSU currently sits fourth in the conference standings.
Other teams have been sidelined for the 2020-21 season.
The California Collegiate Athletic Association announced on Dec. 3 that it was canceling all conference schedules for both winter/spring season, leaving it up to individual institutions to schedule competitions that meet local health and safety protocols. This could include non-league and exhibition games.
Locally, Cal State San Marcos is affected by the decision made by the 12-member Division II conference.
Other collegiate organizations are still hoping to get in at least a limited schedule of conference play amid a turbulent and ever-changing health landscape.
The California Community College Athletic Association Board of Directors voted Nov. 6 to continue forward with its Contingency Plan, which provides the CCCAA with a framework for a return to competition this spring, while also providing decision-making guidance for institutions.
The Contingency Plan, which was approved in July, moved all 24 of the CCCAA’s sports to one of two sessions in the spring with traditional fall sports — as well as men’s and women’s basketball — participating in the first half and remaining sports competing in the second.
After lengthy discussion, the CCCAA Board of Directors reaffirmed following the Contingency Plan while also expressing that the plan is only a framework and final decisions to participate in competition will be left to institutions in consultation with their local health authorities. The Board also requested the COVID-19 Work Group determine opt-in/opt-out dates for schools to indicate participation for the spring while understanding that extenuating circumstances may arise that may lead institutions to opt out at later date.
The Board of Directors also approved a motion to provide student-athletes a waiver for any CCCAA competition during the 2020-21 athletic year in order to support the success, safety, and well-being of student-athletes.
The CCCAA suspended its spring sports on March 12 and subsequently canceled them a week later.
Under the Contingency Plan, the following sports are slated to play in an early spring schedule block: basketball, cross country, football, women’s golf, soccer, women’s volleyball, water polo and wrestling while badminton, baseball, beach volleyball, men’s golf, softball, swim/dive, tennis, track and field and men’s volleyball.
Early spring sports, including football, are scheduled to start practices on Jan. 18, followed by competition dates starting Feb. 5-13. The conference competition end date is April 6, followed by regional playoffs starting April 10 and an end to the season on April 17.
Late spring sports are scheduled to start practices March 27 with an end date of the season on June 23.
The first casualty already has been tallied after Santa Barbara City College elected to opt-out of the early 2021 spring season of athletic competition due to concerns related to COVID-19. Ten sports teams that normally play in the fall will not compete in the 2020-21 campaign. They include football, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s basketball, women’s water polo, women’s golf, women’s volleyball and men’s and women’s cross country.
“Out of an abundance of caution, Santa Barbara City College will be opting out of competition,” said Superintendent/President Utpal K. Goswami, “We are faced with continuously changing conditions and restrictions that post a significant challenge for our athletic teams.”
“Although we’ll be opting out of competition, we’re still planning on holding our classes and practices as the state and county will allow,” said Athletic Director Rocco Constantino.
The deadline to decide whether to play early spring sports is Dec. 18. The deadline to decide whether the late spring sports will be played is Feb. 26, 2021.
“This was a very difficult and disappointing decision to make but after a lot of collaboration and input from many sources, we decided this was the best option for our students and staff,” Goswami said. “Health and safety is always the most important consideration.”
Other institutions, including Southwestern College and other Pacific Coast Athletic Conference schools locally, will be making their decisions shortly.
Twice weekly or weekly testing for the COVID-19 virus among student-athletes and staff will present a major financial burden unless outside grants can be obtained.
“Our mentality is that we’re going to prepare as if we’re going to play,” Southwestern football head coach Ed Carberry said. “The color (assigned to a region) we have no control over. Right now it’s classroom instruction through Zoom meetings and guest speakers.”
A move into the Red Tier or higher could allow for onsite conditioning or workouts at a future date.
Go Aztecs
Braced by a 93-yard kickoff return by Jordan Byrd (Albuquerque) and a 90-yard punt return by B.J. Busbee (Long Beach) just 90 seconds apart in the second quarter, SDSU was able to build a 20-3 lead on the Rams en route to snapping a two-game losing streak.
Jordon Brookshire (Santa Rosa) earned the start at quarterback for the Aztecs, delivering an eight-yard touchdown pass to Christian High School alumnus Jesse Matthews. It marked the first career touchdown pass for Brookshire and the first TD catch of the season for Matthews, who tops SDSU receivers with 19 catches for 275 yards.
Place-kicker Matt Araiza (Rancho Bernardo) tied a career-high with three field goals (40, 21 and 38 yards).
The Aztecs led 23-17 at halftime and scored the only points of the second half on a pair of Araiza field goals.
Brookshire, who was seeing his most extensive action this season, competed 14 of 24 passes for 130 yards while tacking on 38 rushing yards on 23 carries. He was sacked three times.
Neither Helix Charter alum Carson Baker nor Mt. Carmel alum Lucas Johnson, also in the team’s signal-calling cadre, appeared in the game.
Bonita Vista alum Greg Bell, who missed the Aztecs’ last game, a 20-10 non-conference loss at Colorado State on Nov. 28 due to an injury, had one carry for four yards in last Saturday’s win over Colorado State.
Bell leads SDSU with 569 net rushing yards, six rushing touchdowns and seven touchdowns overall on the season.
Bell rushed 10 times for 28 net yards, scoring on a two-yard touchdown run, in the Aztecs’ 26-21 loss at Nevada-Reno on Nov. 21.
Cameron Thomas (Carlsbad) led SDSU defensively in the win over the Rams with eight tackles while Tariq Thompson (St. Augustine) and Jonah Tavai (Manhattan Beach) both registered seven tackles. Darren Hall (Pasadena) and Dwayne Johnson Jr. (Murrieta) followed with six tackles.
Hall and Tayler Hawkins (Palm Springs) both made interceptions in the game. As a team, the Aztecs recorded 11 tackles for a loss.
Thompson leads SDU with 37 tackles, followed by Johnson with 36 stops.
Thompson made his 46th consecutive start, the longest active streak on the team (offense/defense).
Eastlake alum William Dunkle returned to the SDSU lineup at right guard after missing three consecutive games due to an injury.
Senior center (and team captain) Dominic Gudino (Olympian) did not play.
Prior to last Saturday’s game, SDSU honored all 19 seniors on its roster.
“I am pretty proud of our football team and proud of our seniors,” Aztec head coach Brady Hoke said. “We honored our (own) and really tried to make it as nice as we could (with the coronavirus pandemic) with messages from their families. (The game) was meant something to all of us, but particularly meant a lot to those guys that we were honoring.
“We talked about how as a program and how as (a) university, we were honoring them for who they are. At the same time, we were honoring their families. They (the seniors) mean an awful lot to us as a staff, and me personally, I always think your seniors are the guys that you coach for and you play for. It was really neat what we did (against the Rams) and I think it meant something special to them.”
Byrd earned honors as the MW Special Teams Player of the Week for his long kickoff return. He accumulated 148 yards on two kick returns in the win over Colorado State.
The SDSU offense has taken a shake-up the past few weeks. Baker was bypassed as the starter for the Nevada game for Johnson.
Baker appeared in relief duty in the Nevada game, failing to complete his lone passing attempt. He had four completions for 26 yards against Pac-12 member Colorado (3-0) while rushing three times for five yards.
In six games this season, Baker has completed 56.7 percent of his passes for 617 yards with three touchdowns while also rushing for one touchdown.
Johnson passed for 181 yards and one touchdown — seven yards to Kobe Smith — while rushing for a 35-yard touchdown in his first start at Nevada.
The Aztecs drove to the Wolf Pack five-yard line in the closing seconds but failed to score a potential game-winning touchdown.
Bell’s two-yard run gave the Aztecs a 21-16 lead over the Wolf Pack at halftime. However, the visitors could muster zero points in the second half as Nevada 10 unanswered points on Romero Doubs’ 50-yard touchdown reception and a 27-yard field goal by Brandon Talton.
SDSU received its 10 points in last Saturday’s loss on a 57-yard interception return by Darren Hall and a 48-yard field goal by Matt Araiza.
Extra points
The NCAA has announced it will allow all football teams, regardless of records, to compete in bowl games. The national collegiate athletics governing body also announced it would grant athletes an additional year of eligibility due to the pandemic.
The CCAA statement noted that since March 2020, when NCAA competition was halted due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, all 12 member institutions had been working jointly on addressing the challenges for a return to play during the 2020-21 academic year.
“The health and safety of the student-athletes, coaches and staff has always been — and always will be — the top priority in our future planning and decision-making process,” the statement from the NCAA Division II conference read. “The CCAA has been exhaustive in exploring multiple return-to-play models that keep health and safety at the forefront.”
However, the statement indicated the CCAA had apparently run out of viable options in making the decision to cancel conference competitions for the winter/spring semester.
“I know this decision is extremely disappointing for our student-athletes, coaches, staff and fans,” CCAA Commissioner Mitch Cox said. “But from the day this pandemic took effect, every decision we made going forward has been focused on the health and safety of everyone involved. We remain committed to providing as many meaningful engagement opportunities for all of our student-athletes, coaches and staff throughout the rest of the 2020-21 academic year.”
While the decision confirms no mandated competitive CCAA schedule will be produced for this academic year, opportunities for team activities, practice and training will be determined and defined by each member institution with the approval of the university president and the Cal State system, and shall adhere to local and state public health regulations.
In other words, it appears individual institutions can schedule what would be construed as non-conference and/or exhibition games providing all health protocols are met.
There is an opportunity to get in some form of meaningful competitions, which could conceivably take the form of tournaments for sports other than football.
Besides Cal State San Marcos, other CCAA members include Cal Poly Pomona, Chico State, CSU Dominguez Hills, CSU East Bay, Cal State Los Angeles, CSU Monterey Bay, CSU San Bernardino, Stanislaus State University, Humboldt State, San Francisco State and Sonoma State.
Under the original contingency plan, the CCAA had canceled all fall sports but was looking for some sports, if not all of them, including fall sports, to compete in the spring.
Alumni report
Mission Hills and Eastlake alum Chris Olave had 10 catches for 139 yards and scored on a 41-yard pass from quarterback Justin Fields as No. 4 Ohio State (5-0) defeated Michigan State by a score of 52-12. Olave has 36 receptions for 528 yards and five touchdowns through five games.
Mater Dei Catholic alum C.J. Verdell had six carries for 10 yards in No. 23 Oregon’s 21-17 upset loss to the Cal Golden Bears. Verdell has rushed for 285 yards and three touchdowns this season for the Ducks (3-2) after racking up 1,220 yards and eight TDs last season.
Otay Ranch alum Devin Lloyd had seven tackles in a 30-24 Pac-12 victory against Oregon State. Lloyd, a semifinalist for the 2020 Butkus Award, tops the Utes (1-2) with 29 tackles, including 18 solo stops, one sack and one forced fumble, through three games.
Mater Dei Catholic alum Quentin Frazier registered four tackles for Hawaii (3-4) in its 35-24 loss to undefeated San Jose State.
Helix Charter alum Elelyon Noa had 10 carries for 30 yards for Utah State (1-5) in its 35-7 setback to the Air Force Academy (3-2).
A pair of former Scotties paired up in a Pac-12 game as USC defeated Washington State 38-13. Sophomore cornerback Isaac Taylor Stuart had three tackles for the victorious Trojans (4-0) while senior linebacker Jahad Woods had six tackles, including four solo stops, for the Cougars (1-2).
Woods has logged 22 tackles with one sack and one forced fumble this season after amassing 121 tackles, three interceptions, two forced fumbles and one interception last year.
Taylor Stuart has collected five tackles in three games for USC this season after making 36 tackles with one interception in 2019, which included an appearance in the SDCCU Holiday Bowl.
Mission Hills alum Jack Tuttle, the 2017 San Diego Section Player of the Year as a senior, made his first career start at quarterback for the 12th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers (6-1) by completing 13 of 22 attempts for 130 yards and two touchdown passes in its 14-6 win over the 16th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers (2-2).
College Football Top 25 Poll
- Alabama (9-0), 2. Notre Dame (10-0), 3. Clemson (9-1), 4. Ohio State (5-0), 5. Texas A&M (7-1), 6. Florida (8-1), 7. Cincinnati (8-0), 8. Georgia (6-2), 9. Iowa State (8-2), 10. Miami (Fla.) (8-1), 11. Oklahoma (7-2), 12. Indiana (6-1), 13. BYU (9-1), 14. Northwestern (5-1), 15. Oklahoma State (6-3), 16. Wisconsin (2-2), 17. North Carolina (7-3), 18. Coastal (10-0), 19. Iowa (5-2), 20. USC (4-0), 21. Marshall (7-1), 22. Washington (3-1), 23. Oregon (3-2), 24, Tulsa (6-1), 25. Louisiana-Lafayette (9-1)
Mountain West Conference standings
San Jose State 5-0, Boise State 4-0, Nevada-Reno 6-1, San Diego State 4-2, Fresno State 3-2, Air Force Academy 2-2, Hawaii 3-4, Wyoming 2-3, Colorado State 1-3, New Mexico 1-5, Utah State 1-5, UN:V 0-5
Pac-12 standings
South Division: USC 4-0, Colorado 3-0, UCLA 3-2, Utah 1-2, Arizona State 0-2, Arizona 0-4
North Division: Washington 3-1, Oregon 3-2, Stanford 2-2, Oregon State 2-3, Washington State 1-2, California 1-3
