Sunday’s game between Arizona State and Utah has been canceled because protocols for COVID-19 will keep the Sun Devils from having enough scholarship players for the game, the Pac-12 announced Tuesday.
It is the third straight cancellation for Arizona State.
“We have had to invoke the Pac-12’s football game cancellation policy for this week’s game versus Utah due to not having the minimum number of scholarship players available on account of return-to-play protocols involving CDC-prescribed quarantines by virtue of contact tracing and cardiac testing evaluation results,” Arizona State athletics director Ray Anderson said in a statement. “The timing of the previously reported positive results coupled with the return-to-play guidelines have stretched over parts of three weeks, which makes it unsafe for several of our players to compete this Sunday.”
The cancellation is the second this week in the Pac-12. On Sunday it was announced the Apple Cup between Washington and Washington State was off.
Washington had been searching for a nonconference opponent to play this week, sources told ESPN, but now that Utah is available to play, it is a strong possibility the Utes and Huskies could play this weekend.
Utah’s first two games of the season were canceled due to its own issues with the virus. Arizona State vs. Utah will be ruled a no contest.