Notre Dame Football: Will the Navy game be moved again?

Notre Dame football has been afforded one out of conference game in its schedule with the ACC. Most are hoping the Irish get to play Navy.

One of the great things about the announcement from the ACC this season was that it allowed each team to still play one out of conference game. It has been widely speculated that this was to make it seem as though the SEC was dodging them in traditional rivalry games, like Georgia vs Georgia Tech. Whatever the motives, it has allowed Notre Dame football to keep Navy on the schedule, while getting in 10 ACC “conference” games.

There is one caveat, however. The game needs to be played in a state where an ACC school resides.

Maryland, also known as where Annapolis is, does not currently have an ACC school in it. This could force a second move in venue of the Notre Dame-Navy game.

Now, the rule does make sense. Geographically, the ACC is a huge conference, and by only playing conference games, they can control the testing protocols for universities. This is for the general safety of players. Furthermore, since they kept a single out of conference game to save rivalry games, like Florida vs Florida State, it makes sense to limit travel for that game. Make Boston College play UMass, and not Kansas.

It’s simply a strange situation. Indiana is now ACC country, but Maryland is not. It’s also a situation that begs the question, can the game still be played in Annapolis, or would it need to be moved again?

Hopefully, given the strange circumstances, the ACC could grant a waiver of some kind for the game to be played at Navy-Memorial Stadium. Notre Dame has road trips from Massachusetts to Georgia. As long as Navy meets the ACC’s testing standards, which they will given the AAC’s own standards, how is a trip to Maryland less safe?

The short answer, it’s not.

However, if the game becomes a long term issue, a nearby neutral site may become the answer going forward. North Carolina, an ACC state, has more than enough stadiums to host the game. The Irish were already going to play a game at the Carolina Panthers’ Bank of America Stadium. A little north, in Pennsylvania, there’s multiple NFL stadiums to borrow for a game.

Of course, this relies on there not being scheduling conflicts. In the world of a pandemic, these stadiums are more available, but agreements still need to be made, venues need to be staffed, and travel plans settled.

If neither of these things are possible, you’d be left with only the option of playing the game in South Bend, and possibly switching which year Notre Dame hosts to the even numbered years.

Now, none of this is ideal. That much is obvious. Ideally, this game would be played in Dublin. Ideally, in our modern world, the game will be played in Annapolis for the first time in series history. However, if there is one thing the modern world has done, it’s made me cynical about hoping for the best case scenario.