Seven Notre Dame players positive for COVID; game vs. Wake Forest postponed
The Atlantic Coast Conference needs to reschedule another game after No. 7 Notre Dame’s game at Wake Forest on Saturday was postponed after positive COVID-19 tests landed 13 Irish players in isolation and another 10 in quarantine. The schools said they were working with the ACC to reschedule the game. Both teams have off Oct. 3.
Notre Dame said 94 football players were tested for COVID-19 on Monday, and seven were positive. Those players were in isolation along with others who tested positive last week. The school is pausing all football-related activities until further testing is complete.
“We managed an increase in positivity rates in August, and the players handled it wonderfully,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. “We knew COVID would present challenges throughout the season, and we’ll always put student-athlete health and safety at the forefront of our decision-making. We look forward to resuming team activities and getting back on the playing field.”
Notre Dame (2-0) opened the season with two home games and held several players out of last week’s victory against South Florida without explanation.
The Irish are playing football as a member of a conference for the first time this season. Notre Dame usually competes as an independent in football and in the ACC in most of its other sports. The school and the conference agreed to the arrangement to help each get through this pandemicdisrupted season.
Notre Dame-Wake Forest is the 18th game involving major college football teams to be postponed or canceled by COVID-19 issues since Aug. 26 and the third ACC game (North Carolina State at Virginia Tech and Virginia at Virginia Tech were rescheduled).
Meanwhile, the Mountain West is zeroing in on a possible late October start to its football season. Mountain West athletic directors are aiming for an Oct. 24 or Oct. 31 start for the football season.
The conference is close to an agreement that will provide its 12 schools with the capacity to perform daily COVID-19 antigen tests on its athletes.
The Pac-12’s CEO Group of presidents and chancellors is meeting Thursday and is expected to make a decision on whether the conference can start its football season as soon as Halloween weekend.