Notre Dame vs. Wake Forest Rescheduled to Dec. 12 After Positive COVID-19 Tests

The ACC announced Wednesday the men's college football game between Notre Dame and Wake Forest, which was originally slated to take place Saturday, has been rescheduled for Dec. 12. 

Notre Dame released a statement Tuesday saying seven of its 94 COVID-19 tests Monday came back positive. It brought the Fighting Irish's number of players in isolation to 13, leading the program to pause all football activities and postpone the game against the Demon Deacons.

Irish head coach Brian Kelly commented on the decision:

"With student-athlete health and safety our primary focus, we will continue to follow our prevention protocols and ongoing testing procedures. We managed an increase in positivity rates in August, and the players handled it wonderfully.

"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."

The ACC confirmed one other schedule change Wednesday, with Wake's game against Campbell being moved from Oct. 9 to Oct. 2. The team will now have a bye week after taking on the Fighting Camels.

Notre Dame, typically an independent in football, opted to join the ACC for the 2020 season to help with scheduling issues brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

It opened the season with a 27-13 win over Duke and followed it up with a 52-0 blowout of South Florida in the team's only non-conference game of the campaign. The Bulls have also halted football activities after their head-to-head battle with Notre Dame until further COVID-19 testing results are available.

The Irish are now slated to have three weeks between games, however, as they won't return to the field until Oct. 10 when they welcome Florida State to Notre Dame Stadium.

Meanwhile, Wake Forest is off to an 0-2 start following losses to top-ranked Clemson (37-13) and NC State (45-42). It's the first time the Deacs have opened with two straight defeats since 2007.

The rescheduled game in December will now serve as the final regular-season contest for both teams. It'll also likely slot the ACC Championship Game, which had tentative dates of Dec. 12 or Dec. 19, to the latter date.