UNC football: Games against Miami and WCU rescheduled as part of ACC reshuffling
Two North Carolina football games will be re-scheduled after Miami players tested positive for COVID-19 and others were forced to quarantine, the ACC announced Monday.
The outbreak of cases prompted a domino effect with the ACC moving six games, and possible a seventh, to accommodate the Hurricanes’ remaining schedule. That includes games that don’t directly involve them.
The Tar Heels switched weekends playing the Canes from Dec. 5 to Dec 12. UNC’s game against Western Carolina has now been moved up a week to Dec. 5, from a Friday night game on Dec. 11. That game was a late addition to the schedule after UNC’s Sept. 19 game against Charlotte was canceled because of COVID-19 contract tracing.
Miami now will play at Wake Forest on Dec. 5 in a game that was originally scheduled for Nov. 28. The Deacons also had their game against Louisville moved up to Nov. 28.
It could end up being a bit of an advantage for Carolina, which is still clinging to an outside chance of making the ACC championship game. No. 2 Notre Dame’s upset of then-top ranked Clemson means it’s no longer as simple as the Heels winning the remainder of games on its schedule. They’ll need some help.
UNC is off this week, then face the Irish on Nov. 27.
Instead of then having to face another grueling game against one of the top three teams in the ACC standings, it will now get the Catamounts, which played its first game of the season last week. WCU, which lost to No. 21 Liberty 58-14, won’t begin its Southern Conference games until the spring.
The Catamounts will face another Football Championship Subdivision opponent in Eastern Kentucky on Saturday before its game with the Heels.
This story was originally published November 16, 2020 at 7:24 PM.