Given the state of sport in today’s world this simply doesn’t surprise me, but one might have thought it could have been caught somewhat sooner than 90 minutes prior to kick-off.

The following is a reprint from a story written by Theo Lawson of the Spokesman Review, so if you’re a football fan, enjoy his story.

Max Borghi and 30 or 40 of his Washington State teammates were running and stretching on the icy field at Martin Stadium approximately two hours before kickoff against California.

In a matter of moments, the entire group disappeared into the home locker room. 

California equipment managers could be seen packing up chairs and headsets on the visitor’s sideline.

Washington State’s equipment staff was doing the same.

Approximately 90 minutes before the Cougars and Golden Bears were supposed to kick off on a snowy afternoon in Pullman, the game was canceled because Cal could not meet the minimum number of scholarship student-athletes available as a result of COVID-19. 

The Golden Bears had one positive COVID-19 case Saturday morning, which was confirmed via PCR testing, resulting in the isolation of more football players because of contact tracing.

According to The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, Cal would’ve had just two defensive linemen available to play against the Cougars.

The Golden Bears flew to the Palouse on Friday afternoon, but Cal players never made it to the field for pregame warm-ups Saturday morning.

The Cougars have had three of their six scheduled games canceled this season. WSU was supposed to travel to Stanford for a Nov. 21 game, but learned the day before they wouldn’t meet the Pac-12’s threshold for scholarship players available. 

The Cougars’ COVID-19 issues bled into the following week, forcing the cancellation of the 113th Apple Cup.