COVID-19 caught up with the Miami football team causing the postponement of the season until December 5 and the rescheduling of three games.
The Miami football team will not play Saturday against Georgia Tech and will next play on December 5 against Wake Forest. The Hurricanes remaining three games have all been rescheduled. Miami was supposed to play the Demon Deacons on November 28. North Carolina has been moved from December 5 to December 12.
The Miami football game against Georgia Tech will be played on December 19 only if the Hurricanes are out of contention for a spot in the ACC Championship game or if their matchup with the Yellow Jackets influences who finished in the top two in the ACC.
Miami is currently 6-1 in the ACC tied with Clemson for second one game behind Notre Dame. Clemson owns the tiebreaker with Miami after defeating the Hurricanes last month. Miami needs another Clemson loss and/or Notre Dame to lose twice to earn a spot in the ACC Championship game to earn an ACC Championship Game berth.
Miami has to win out to keep its ACC Championship Game hopes alive. The Hurricanes had 11 players out due to COVID-19 issues in its victory over North Carolina State last week and 13 out on Saturday in the victory over Virginia Tech. Manny Diaz said in the postgame Miami almost did not play.
Update - Miami has rescheduled three football games. More:
— Miami Hurricanes Football (@CanesFootball) November 16, 2020
"“We are disappointed that we will not be able to play the next two weeks as scheduled but this decision was made in the best interests of the health and safety of all teams.The health and safety of our student-athletes is always our top priority and we will continue to follow the conference’s protocols in order to safely and responsibly return to play.”"
Miami Athletic Director Blake James spoke above on the official Miami Hurricanes website about the disappointment and the decision to postpone the Miami football season for two weeks. Only Clemson, Miami and Notre Dame have realistic chances of making the ACC Championship game this season.
The Hurricanes, Tigers and Fighting Irish are the only teams in the ACC with less than two losses. Three other games involving Georgia Tech, UNC and Wake Forest were rescheduled due to the need for Miami to pause its season. Georgia Tech will now have three weeks in between games like Miami is scheduled to do.
The Yellow Jackets had its game against Pittsburgh on Saturday due to COVID issues. Georgia Tech will now play its next game on November 28 against Duke. The ACC has had to reschedule multiple games this season because of COVID-19. Most ACC Football programs have had at least one game canceled due to the virus.