The Pac-12 is "plowing forward with plans for a 10-game conference-only schedule" for football this season, and the official announcement, with weekly matchups, is "expected no later than the end of next week," according to Jon Wilner of the San Jose MERCURY NEWS. It is a "fairly aggressive approach that spans a maximum of 14 weeks beginning in the middle of September." The Pac-12's football planning group, which includes ADs, coaches and directors of football operations, "has been modeling conference-only schedules for months." The final version of the model is expected to include the following:
- A 10-game regular-season, although the conference has "nine-game schedules ready and could switch to that model if the presidents prefer a more conservative approach or if public health circumstances dictate a change."
- Season openers "have been scheduled for Sept. 19, or what would have been Week Three on the original 2020 calendar."
- At least two bye weeks are "built into the lineup, creating windows for games that cannot be played as scheduled."
- The Pac-12 championship at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas "could be played on any of three weekends." It was "originally scheduled for Friday, Dec. 4, and that remains an option under a best-case scenario" (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 7/24).
