The XFL officially shut down its 2020 football season on Friday. The decision was to be expected given the current state of the sports world in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. College football certainly has not been immune to the impact the coronavirus has had on the sports world, with conferences shutting everything down for spring sports and spring football practices and games this year. Now, college football will offer the next batch of games that will really count in 2020, barring any other unforeseen delays.
As things stand now, there are currently seven games involving FBS teams scheduled to play in college football’s Week 0 (Saturday, August 29). Arizona is scheduled to host Hawaii, UCLA will host New Mexico State, East Carolina will host Marshall, Nevada is scheduled to host UC Davis, and New Mexico is slated to host Idaho State.
UNLV is tentatively scheduled to host California, although the current state of the brand new football stadium being constructed in LAs Vegas could be in question with the coronavirus outbreak interfering with so many facets of our lives, including construction projects.
Perhaps the most notable Week 0 game will be played abroad, so long as it is deemed safe to do so by the time that game comes along. Notre Dame and Navy are scheduled to square off in Dublin, Ireland for a 2:00 p.m. ET kickoff. As long as we are back to a relatively normal way of life by the end of August, that should be a fun age to help kick off the new college football season. Hopefully, travel restrictions and extra precautions in the post-coronavirus world will not get in the way of the experience for Notre Dame, Navy, and their fans planning on attending. Of course, safety always comes first. As of now, there is no indication this game will be altered in any way, and the hope is to keep it that way.
Once we do get college football back in the mix, it will be a comforting sign that things are getting back to normal, and we’ll all need that. Until then, wash those hands and keep your distance.