Cincinnati‘s game at Temple on Saturday has been canceled and will be declared a no contest due to positive COVID-19 cases and the ensuing contact tracing of athletes at both schools, the American Athletic Conference announced on Wednesday.
The Bearcats (8-0) were No. 7 in the first College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday night.
Cincinnati and Temple share a common open date on Dec. 5, but the American’s return-to-play protocols would not allow for a sufficient number of players to be available for the game to be rescheduled for that date.
BYU, which like Cincinnati is also unbeaten, is exploring the possibility of adding another opponent. The Cougars, who were No. 14 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings, don’t play again until a Dec. 12 home game with San Diego State. But with AAC protocols preventing Cincinnati from playing next weekend, a potential BYU-Cincinnati matchup on Dec. 5 would not be possible.
Cincinnati, which has won nine straight games dating back to last season, is next scheduled to face No. 25 Tulsa on Dec. 12 on the road. Cincinnati and Tulsa are both unbeaten in American play and poised to potentially play for a second straight week on Dec. 19 in the conference championship game. Tulsa also had its game Saturday at Houston postponed because of COVID-19 issues.