There remains hope that the 2020 college football season will be played this season despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, that same hope doesn’t exist for the anticipated Navy vs. Notre Dame game in Ireland.
According to The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel, the game between Notre Dame and Navy simply won’t happen barring a medical miracle before August.
While Navy’s athletic director expressed hope for the game to still be played, the reality of the global pandemic makes it unlikely. There are now more than 2 million cases of the coronavirus, per Johns Hopkins University, with the situation only getting worse as more people test positive and others pass away.
Universities aren’t going to feel safe sending hundreds of college kids to Ireland for several days with the risk of further exposure or being quarantined in another country. As a result, especially with a cure not available and stay-at-home orders still in place, the season-opening clash between Notre Dame and Navy seems improbable.
Furthermore, it’s not even known when the 2020 college football season will begin. Players would need months to prepare and the University of Oklahoma shut down its facilities until August. Realistically, the NCAA is even considering pushing the upcoming season back until 2021.
Everyone would have loved to see Notre Dame and Navy take the field in Ireland and put on an incredible international show. Unfortunately, that’s just not going to happen due to the crisis the entire world is currently experiencing.