Washington opts out of bowl consideration due to medical reasons

Add the Washington Huskies to the growing list of schools withdrawing from college football postseason play.

Washington announced on Friday that it will not accept a bowl invitation for the campaign held amid the COVID-19 pandemic because of medical reasons. 

The Huskies had to cancel a Dec. 12 matchup against the Oregon Ducks because of coronavirus-related issues and were replaced by Oregon for the Pac-12 title game held in Los Angeles on Friday night. 

Oregon will face the USC Trojans. 

"As we shared earlier in the week, we have taken proactive measures to contain the further spread of COVID-19 in our football program," Washington team physician Dr. Kim Harmon explained in the prepared statement. Harmon continued:

"After continuing our pause on all football-related activities, we are confident we have been able to do that this week. With that said, we have experienced a number of positive cases within a key position group. Due to our thorough return to play policy, we would have not been able to have a team that was ready to return to practice and safely prepare for and compete in a bowl game. Despite the aggressive protocols we created and implemented at the onset of the season, and have strictly adhered to throughout the year, we still found ourselves in this position due to the power of this virus."

Washington head coach Jimmy Lake added: 

"Our goal every season is to win the Pac-12 Championship and win the bowl game. I'm so proud of our guys for how hard they have worked to put us in a position to achieve those goals. Unfortunately, due to the positive cases we have seen, specifically on our offensive line, we would have not been able to have a team ready to compete at a high level in a bowl game due to our return to play protocols. This is disappointing for everyone within our program and all of Husky Nation, but this is the right decision to make to protect the health and safety of our players, which is always our greatest priority. Our guys have given up so much this season, and I would like to thank them for how they have handled everything. I would also like to give special recognition to our seniors who poured so much into this program, we are so proud of them for everything they have accomplished on and off the field."

Washington finishes the year with a 3-1 record following a 31-26 loss to the Stanford Cardinal on Dec. 5. The Huskies join Stanford, the Utah Utes, UCLA Bruins, Kansas State Wildcats, Virginia Tech Hokies, Pitt Panthers, and Boston College Eagles among schools that have passed on bowl bids. 

The SMU Mustangs were unable to compete in the Frisco Bowl because of COVID-19 setbacks impacting their program.