College football jumping across the pond to Ireland may have to take a raincheck due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Though many have been wondering if college football will be played this fall, one of the more anticipated games on the 2020 schedule could be on the move regardless. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly confirmed that discussing are being had regarding moving the opener against Navy that was to take place Week 0 in Dublin, Ireland.
As Douglas Farmer of NBC’s Inside the Irish relays:
#NotreDame and Navy are looking at "all options at this time" re: Aug. 29 in Dublin. "I can tell you this, those discussions are under way. They're certainly being deliberated as we speak," Brian Kelly says.
— Douglas Farmer (@D_Farmer) April 8, 2020
The two rivals’ annual game was scheduled to take place at Aviva Stadium and mark the third time they’ve played in the city over the past few decades. The teams have met every year since 1927 and the event was expected to draw nearly 35,000 fans.
Any potential change is also notable given that ESPN’s College GameDay was also supposed to be at the game with their first ever international edition as a way to kickoff the 2020 season. While game times were not completely set for Week 0 prior to the pandemic, the Navy-Notre Dame contest was likely to be one of, if not the, first games of the college football calendar.
Who knows when -- or where -- the Irish will wind up playing the Midshipmen eventually, but like everything changing as a result of the battle against COVID-19, things are taking a backseat to the health and safety of others. That certainly includes a game of overseas pigskin.