Georgia Tech was approached by the ACC about possibly playing a game next week, when the Yellow Jackets are scheduled to have the first of their two open dates. Athletic director Todd Stansbury brought that to light Thursday during an online “town hall” interview conducted by the AJC with several Atlanta sports leaders regarding the impact of COVID-19 on sports.
Stansbury said that the call was made in the wake of Notre Dame’s postponing its game Saturday against Wake Forest after positive COVID-19 tests put 13 players in isolation and 10 in quarantine. Tech will still have its open date as scheduled, a team spokesman confirmed. The Yellow Jackets play at Syracuse on Saturday and resume their schedule after their open date with a home game against Louisville on Oct. 9.
Stansbury mentioned the call to illustrate the flexibility in scheduling that has been required this season when games have been postponed or canceled on a weekly basis because of protocols regarding COVID-19 testing depleting rosters. Such inquiries to survey potential availability have become common this season as the ACC – and other leagues – have had to adjust schedules on the fly. The Wake Forest-Notre Dame postponement was the fourth game involving an ACC team that will not be played as scheduled.
“Typically, we’re scheduling games four, five, six years in advance,” Stansbury said. “I’ve got games scheduled for ’30, ’31. And now I got a call the other day wondering if we could potentially play a game on our bye week because of the situation with Notre Dame. Nimble and flexible and patient, and everything’s on the table.”
A significant reason that the ACC decided on playing only one non-conference game out of its revised 11-game schedule is that conference games are significantly easier to reschedule than non-conference matchups. Tech is scheduled to play Notre Dame at Bobby Dodd Stadium on Oct. 31.
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