Louisville football: Postponement of Virginia game not a bad thing for Cards

While Louisville football fans might be bummed that the Virginia game has been postponed, it’s actually not the worst thing in the world.

There is a big change to the status of this weekend’s Louisville football game.

The Louisville football team has paused all team activities leading up to this Saturday’s previously scheduled matchup versus Virginia, University of Louisville athletic director Vince Tyra announced in a statement via the GoCards.com.

This pause comes on the heels of 15 new positive COVID-19 tests in the program including 10 players and five staff members, according to Tyra. In addition to the 15 positive tests, five players are currently in quarantine as close contacts.

With this news, this Saturday’s matchup against Virginia has been tentatively postponed to next Saturday, November 14 at 3:30 p.m. The game is scheduled to air on the ACC Network, according to a release from the Atlantic Coastal Conference. This date, of course, could change if there is not a de-escalation in the number of positives within the program.

Vince Tyra went on to say that testing will continue on Friday and Sunday for the program and will ultimately “dictate when [the program] will return to team activities moving forward.”

On what could happen with the Virginia game if positives do not slow down in the days before the game on November 14, Tyra said the team would likely reschedule the game for December 19 (the same day that the ACC championship game will take place).

Tyra went on to say that all who have tested positive have “mild or less symptoms.”

This is certainly positive initial news and, naturally, we are hoping for speedy recoveries for all of those that are involved within the program at the moment.

While this news comes just days before an anticipated game day, it is important to understand the action the university has taken to protect all of the staff and student-athletes involved. The number one priority for the university should be to protect these players and staff members first.

Scott Satterfield did say Monday that the team was expecting to miss the same exact players that were missing last week in the game against Virginia Tech due to COVID reasons. Meaning, the Cardinals would have had just six defensive linemen available once again had there not been additional positive tests within the program.

Louisville will now have time to regroup before next week’s game from a football standpoint. The hope is that many of the missing players from the Virginia Tech game will be able to return against Virginia on November 14.

It remains to be seen which new players have tested positive for the virus. Regardless of the player, let us all hope for a successful recovery for all of whom are involved.