It’s Championship Weekend, which means college football teams decide the winner of the FBS conventions.
However, three hours after the start of the ACC Championship Game – and 27 hours after the start of the Pac-12 Championship Game – the two Pac-12 teams will play one final game. USC will be on its way to face Cal at California Memorial Stadium, at 11 p.m. ET. The game will be made by FS1.
The game will be played in a set of strange situations. Both teams drew 4-7 and failed to qualify for a bowl, meaning this will be the last game of the 2021 season.
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So why are these two teams playing?
Why USC is playing Cal for the championship on Saturday
The Trojans and Golden Bears were originally supposed to play against each other on Nov. 13. However, due to the wave of positive COVID-19 tests from Cal players, the two sides decided to postpone the game to the end of the season. .
“Our hearts go out to all the people who enjoy our games in so many ways and especially the players who just have so many opportunities to go out and play them,” Cal coach Justin Wilcox said in a statement. “Delaying this game is a last resort and not an action any of us would like to take, however, we cannot make a team on Saturday.”
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Last week, Cal had only 42 players available for the team’s game against Arizona, according to ESPN.
According to a statement from Cal, the Golden Bears and the Trojans agreed to reschedule the game for December 4, and the conference approved for the game to be rescheduled.
A week later, notice field that the game was set for 8 p.m. pacific time. If the two sides are unable to play, it will only be the second consecutive season the two have not played each other after 99 consecutive league seasons.
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ESPN reports that there is precedent for the conference to reschedule a game the way it did with the game. Back in 2018, Cal’s game against Stanford was postponed from November 17 to December 1 due to poor air quality in Berkeley due to the Camp Fire.
Although Lincoln Riley has since been hired by USC as their next head coach, don’t expect to see him on the sidelines against the Golden Bears. Donte Williams, the team’s interim head coach, will lead the Trojans one last time before officially starting the Riley era in Los Angeles.
