As Pac-12 Football Eyes Return, Trump Says It's 'Ridiculous' Conference Isn't Playing Yet

After the Big Ten reversed course and decided to play football this year, it might be the Pac-12’s turn to salvage the 2020 season.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said Wednesday that restrictions would be lifted to allow schools to host traditional practices. Approval from local officials is still needed for UCLA, USC, Oregon and Oregon State to get back on the field.

Pac-12 officials are set to meet Friday with an eye on potentially playing games in a few weeks.

“Some good progress today with the governors in California and Oregon sending some strong signals that they’re supportive and that state regulations won’t be hurdles,” Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said on “SportsCenter” Wednesday night. “This combined with daily testing, which we’ve secured, gives our medical professionals comfort that we can return safely. So we’re now going to figure out what this all means.

“We still need approval from the local health officials in the counties in California and Oregon, but we’re going to push the envelope. Our student-athletes want to play, our coaches want to play, our schools want to do so if we can do so safely and today was a big step forward toward that.”

Like the Big Ten, the Pac-12 could change its decision to postpone fall sports in large part because of the acquisition of rapid coronavirus tests. The Pac-12 announced on Sept. 3 that it reached an agreement with Quidel Corporation to implement daily coronavirus testing with student-athletes for all close-contact sports.

Scott said the best-case scenario is for games to start at the end of October or in early November. The conference hopes to start its schedule as quickly as possible in order for teams to be considered for the College Football Playoff.

Oregon (No.9) and USC (No.17) were ranked in the preseason AP Top 25 poll and are considered candidates to compete for a postseason berth.

The Big Ten announced its return to play Wednesday and is scheduled to start its season on the weekend of Oct. 23. Each team will play eight games before the Big Ten Championship Game.

“They should be playing football. It’s ridiculous,” President Donald Trump said of the Pac-12 to Clay Travis on Fox Sports Radio Thursday morning. “They may have a problem with their venues. Who knows? And some of them have a problem with governors.”

Trump has taken credit for saving the Big Ten's 2020 football season, saying the conference had no chance to play if the White House didn’t get involved. The president offered to help the Pac-12 play football as well.

Some Big Ten decision-makers have denied that Trump’s involvement had anything to do with the decision to play football in 2020.