COVID-19 cancels Duke vs. Wake Forest football game
Duke and Wake Forest have played each other in football every season since 1967 but the coronavirus pandemic appears to have ended that streak.
The ACC announced Tuesday night that Saturday’s scheduled game between the schools at Duke’s Wallace Wade Stadium will not be played due to coronavirus cases at Wake Forest.
In a press release, Wake Forest said the two schools would work to find a date to make up the game, but neither Duke nor the ACC addressed that possibility and it appears unlikely to occur.
Both teams have games scheduled the next two weekends. On Nov. 28, Duke travels to Georgia Tech while Wake Forest is at Louisville. On Dec. 5, Duke plays its last scheduled game of the season against Florida State and Wake Forest hosts Miami.
The Demon Deacons are also scheduled to play Dec. 12 at home against Notre Dame in a game that had to be moved from earlier this season due to COVID-19 issues at Notre Dame. That game was originally to be played in Charlotte on Sept. 26.
The Duke-Wake postponement is the second game this week the ACC has had to postpone. On Monday, the league moved Saturday’s Georgia Tech at Miami game to December due to positive cases and quarantines on Miami’s team. Miami coach Manny Diaz said after last Saturday’s win at Virginia Tech -- despite missing 13 players and three starters -- that the game was “on the brink” of being postponed.
The Georgia Tech-Miami game has been moved to Dec. 19, the same day as the ACC Championship Game. The game will only be played if Miami is not in the ACC title game and if the result of the Georgia Tech at Miami game would not directly impact the determination of which two teams do play in the league championship game.
Duke (2-6, 1-6 ACC) would have to stay on campus for two additional weeks to make up the game with Wake Forest on Dec. 19, an unappealing prospect to the Blue Devils.
Wake Forest (4-3, 3-3) is suspending practice and team activities Wednesday and Thursday, the school said. Earlier Tuesday, prior to the decision to postpone the game with Duke, Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson admitted the virus was impacting his team.
“We’re not unaffected,” Clawson said said during his weekly videoconference with reporters. “We were down some players and we are down some players. It’s limited right now. It’s a small number, and we hope to keep it that way.”
But that did not turn out to be the case, something Clawson said he was well aware could happen given the pandemic.
“At no point have I felt confident that we’re fine with that,” Clawson said. “It’s a weekly battle. Every time we test I lose sleep and hold my breath until we get the test results back. That is an every-other-day event. There’s been a lot of rewards this season. I’m glad we’re playing. I think the players would tell you they’re glad we’re playing. But there have certainly been many unique challenges.”
This story was originally published November 17, 2020 at 10:30 PM.