PULLMAN, Wash. — WSU football will not play Stanford this Saturday due to concerns over coronavirus on WSU's football team.
The Pac-12 said in a statement that the team did not have the minimum number of scholarship players available for the game as a result of a number of positive football student-athlete COVID-19 cases and resulting isolation of football student-athletes under contact-tracing protocols.
WSU Athletic Director Pat Chun announced Tuesday on the WSU coaches show that the team has 12 students athletes in the COVID protocol. That's up from nine on Friday.
There were no Cougars in the coronavirus protocol for last Saturday's game against the Oregon Ducks, WSU said.
Tests on Friday morning placed four players in protocol, Chun said.
Chun also said he's unsure if it will be possible to be move the Apple Cup if that is needed to make it playable, but noted that the Pac-12 has been flexible.
Chun added in a statement that there were other factors as well that led to the Cougs not meeting the 53 scholarship player requirement. Those factors could include injuries, opt outs, and transfers.
"I'm disappointed for our team and our players. They have battled through so much this year. We had a good week of practice and were excited to play this game," Nick Rolovich said. "I recognize the pain they feel with this lost opportunity but this 2020 football team is a resilient group of young men."
Jon Wilner of the Pac-12 Hotline also reports that the Apple Cup may be up in the air due to contact tracing.
On Thursday night, multiple reports surfaced that WSU quarterback Jayden de Laura had tested positive for coronavirus. It remains unknown how wide spread the Cougars' outbreak is.
Upon testing positive for COVID-19 in the Pac-12, a player is placed into a 10 day quarantine. Depending upon when de Laura tested positive, he could also miss the Apple Cup which is on Friday, Nov. 27.
De Laura's case is the second significant case of COVID-19 the Cougs have had to deal with in the past few days. Men's basketball coach Kyle Smith also tested positive for the virus earlier this week.