USC vs. Cal football “postponed” due to Covid-19 cases

Update 7:52 pm. The game has indeed been rescheduled for Championship Weekend, as it will be made up on December 4th.

Update 7:00 pm. Cal is referring to the game as “postponed.” Both teams could play on the weekend of December 4th since neither will play in the Pac-12 Championship Game.

This Saturday’s matchup between the Cal Golden Bears and USC Trojans has been canceled due to an outbreak of Covid-19 cases amongst the Bears according to multiple reports.

Not everyone is on board with the decision, as Golden Bears quarterback Chase Garbers took to Twitter to give his side of the situation.

Previous reporting has indicated that the overwhelming majority of Cal players are vaccinated. Here is Cal’s university-wide Covid policy, which indicates the following:

An outbreak is defined by Cal/OSHA as three or more employee cases in an exposed work group in a 14 day period. An outbreak remains in effect until no new COVID-19 cases are detected in the exposed group for a 14-day period.

In the event of an outbreak, face-coverings are required for the exposed work group while indoors and voluntary use of N95s are offered. The exposed work group must maintain, at least six foot distancing another person or maintain separation using cleanable solid partitions of sufficient size to reduce COVID-19 transmission. In addition, during an outbreak, UC Berkeley works closely with Berkeley Public Health who may include additional requirements such as testing of all members of an exposed work group at a prescribed frequency.

This will have effects downstream even though both Cal and USC are out of the race to play for the Pac-12 Championship. The Trojans are 4-5 and need two more wins for bowl eligibility, and Cal still had a lifeline to the postseason with a 3-6 record. If this game isn’t made up, they won’t be able to play in a bowl game.

USC was a two-point favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook.