Notre Dame postpones Saturday's football game against Wake Forest and pauses team activities for the second time after seven Fighting Irish players test positive for coronavirus

Notre Dame's upcoming football game against Wake Forest has been postponed after school officials announced that seven Fighting Irish players tested positive for coronavirus on Monday.   

The South Bend, Indiana school will pause all football-related activities until more testing can be done. Currently 13 players are in isolation while 10 are in quarantine, according to a Notre Dame statement. 

None of those 10 players appeared in Saturday's win over South Florida, according to the school.  

The No. 7 Fighting Irish (2-0) were scheduled to travel to Wake Forest (0-2) on Saturday.

Notre Dame previously paused football activities for three days in August following five positive tests.  

'With student-athlete health and safety our primary focus, we will continue to follow our prevention protocols and ongoing testing procedures,' coach Brian Kelly said. 'We managed an increase in positivity rates in August, and the players handled it wonderfully.

Notre Dame previously paused football activities for three days in August following five positive tests. 'With student-athlete health and safety our primary focus, we will continue to follow our prevention protocols and ongoing testing procedures,' coach Brian Kelly said. 'We managed an increase in positivity rates in August, and players handled it wonderfully'

'We knew COVID would present challenges throughout the season, and we'll always put student-athlete health and safety at the forefront of our decision making. We look forward to resuming team activities and getting back on the playing field.'

Both Notre Dame and Wake Forest have an open date on October 3, which will likely be the date the postponed game will be scheduled. 

'I know everyone involved is saddened to be unable to play this weekend, but based on the circumstances it is the right decision,' Wake Forest athletic director John Currie said in a statement. 'We are already discussing options for rescheduling with the ACC and our future opponents, including the possibility of playing on the October 3rd weekend.' 

The Fighting Irish ruled out eight players on the two-deep roster 90 minutes before kicking off against USF, though at least one was due to injury.  

Kelly said Monday the team is trying to create as much of a bubble as possible, not allowing players to make contact with family before a game, for example. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has decimated college football this season, prompting two of the 'Power Five' conferences - the Big Ten and Pac-12 - to postpone their campaigns until springtime. The Big Ten has since changed course, opting instead to start a season in October, but teams will only face other conference foes. 

Notre Dame, a longstanding independent, was adopted by the Atlantic Coast Conference for the 2020 season in response to the pandemic.

Notre Dame, a longstanding independent, was adopted by the Atlantic Coast Conference for the 2020 season in response to the pandemic