A problem that created merely a personnel hurdle Saturday has worsened into a postponed game.
Notre Dame will not play Saturday’s game at Wake Forest as scheduled, the team announced Tuesday, due to a rash of new COVID-19 cases from Monday’s testing. There were seven positives cases out of 94 tests administered Monday that brought the total to 13 players in isolation and 10 more in quarantine.
The Irish played South Florida Sept. 19 with 10 players out due to COVID-19 protocols, which proved not to be a hinderance in a 52-0 win. They are now down 23 players, and the team’s statement said the process of identifying close contacts is still ongoing. Football activities have been paused until further testing is completed.
“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,” head coach Brian Kelly said. “We look forward to resuming team activities and getting back on the playing field.”
Per the ACC’s protocols, players in contact tracing must quarantine for 14 days, while those who test positive must isolate for 10. In accordance with those guidelines, all 23 players could be in line to miss a game played on Saturday.
The conference’s game postponement plans state a game may be moved if there is “a COVID-19 cluster (as defined by the institution and/or local public health officials) within either or both teams competing in the game based upon that week’s test results as part of the [Medical Advisory Group’s] three times per week testing the week of competition.”
The ACC’s only minimum roster size stipulation for playing is a team must have at least seven scholarship offensive linemen available. It does not require a minimum number of overall players or practices that week, but Kelly said earlier this month missing multiple practices would jeopardize a team’s ability to play in the game that weekend, though the exact number depends on the timing of lost practices.
“I would say if you canceled two of your practices — and those probably being the two earliest practices, because you can’t be physical late in the week,” Kelly said. “If you’re out of business Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, you’re in trouble for having a team that can practice and being prepared.
“If you lose two or three days early in the week, you’re hard-pressed to get your team ready.”
Notre Dame’s indefinite pause made proper practice time untenable.
Notre Dame does not release the names or positions of players who are in COVID-19 protocols, but seven players on that week’s two-deep with no reported injury issues were listed as unavailable for the USF game after participating the prior week: quarterback Brendon Clark, running back Jahmir Smith, wide receiver Lawrence Keys III, defensive end Ovie Oghoufo, linebackers Shayne Simon and Marist Liufau, and cornerback TaRiq Bracy.
Notre Dame did not announce the status of players not listed on the two-deep.
A makeup date for the game at Wake Forest has not been announced, though Notre Dame and Wake Forest have Oct. 3 as a common open date. It’s not known how many of the 23 affected players could emerge from quarantine or isolation in time to play a game that weekend.
“We are already discussing options for rescheduling with the ACC and our future opponents, including the possibility of playing on the October 3rd weekend,” Wake Forest athletics director John Currie said in a statement.
Dec. 12 is a common off date as well. The ACC championship game is scheduled for either Dec. 12 or 19, though one other previously postponed game — Virginia at Virginia Tech — is already slated for Dec. 12.
Elsewhere, The Tampa Bay Times reported USF tested players twice Friday, with all results coming back negative. The Bulls’ Monday tests also produced all negative results.
As of noon Tuesday, Notre Dame’s university-wide testing dashboard shows nine new cases reported since Sept. 17 and 33 active cases among the campus community.
Notre Dame football has had 25 positive tests since players reported back to campus in June. The postponed game against Wake Forest is the 18th college football game to be disrupted this season.
This story has been updated.
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