LOS ANGELES – The Pac-12 has discussed an 11-game regular season played solely against conference opponents as one possibility for keeping college football going this year amid the coronavirus pandemic.
University of Southern California coach Clay Helton confirmed the all-conference idea Monday as one of several scenarios being evaluated by the Pac-12’s coaches and administrators.
“It’s been discussed in our Pac-12 meetings, and it’s been discussed by the commissioners,” Helton said on a video conference call with Stanford coach David Shaw and new Washington State coach Nick Rolovich.
Pac-12 teams typically play 12-game schedules with three nonconference games. An all-conference schedule would minimize travel for a far-flung conference, but it would wipe out several high-profile nonconference games on the league’s schedule this fall.
Helton repeatedly emphasized that the Pac-12 doesn’t expect to finalize a plan for at least six weeks while gathering information and observing the progress of the pandemic.