UNLV still practicing after Boise State cancellation

Things can change in an instant during this COVID-19 football season, as both UNLV and Boise State experienced this week.

On Monday and Tuesday, UNLV coach Marcus Arroyo and Boise State coach Bryan Harsin seemed optimistic about their chances of their teams getting to play the game scheduled for Friday at Allegiant Stadium.

UNLV played last Friday after having its game the week before canceled. Boise State had shut down all football activities after its game against San Jose State last Saturday was called off hours before kickoff but practiced Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the UNLV-Boise State game was canceled. The schools and Mountain West put out a joint statement about the decision, but it didn’t get into any details regarding the number of positive tests or contact tracing for either team.

UNLV athletics spokesperson Andy Grossman said Thursday the percentage of positive tests within the football program over the past two weeks is 0.15 percent. While that threshold falls well below the 7 percent established by Mountain West protocols to cancel a game, Grossman said he was unsure how many players would have been forced to miss the game because of contact tracing.

The Rebels are still practicing and preparing to travel to Hawaii next week for their final game of the season, Grossman said.

Hawaii and UNR are the only teams in the conference that have not had a game canceled. Hawaii will host San Jose State on Saturday, a game that was moved from San Jose, California, after Santa Clara county imposed new limits on sports competitions this week.

“I think the league and its members have been very nimble throughout the season,” Mountain West spokesperson Javan Hedlund said. “We knew there were going to be cancellations this season, and we continue to monitor the ever-changing situation in all of the league’s eight states.”

The UNLV-Boise State game is the ninth to be canceled, and the nonconference game between Air Force and Army was postponed from Nov. 5 to Dec. 19, the same day as the Mountain West Championship Game.

Hedlund said the conference is confident it will be able to finish the season, especially since there are only two weeks left before the championship game and the UNLV-Boise State is the only game that has been canceled this week.

“We’re looking pretty good,” Hedlund said. “As of today, knock on wood, we’re on target.”

Contact Jason Orts at jorts@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2936. Follow @SportsWithOrts on Twitter.