Illinois won’t play Nebraska as planned in Ireland to open the 2021 college football season.
The Fighting Illini announced late Wednesday afternoon that the game against the Cornhuskers scheduled for August 28 has been moved to Champagne because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
Notre Dame’s game against Navy that was supposed to be played in Ireland in 2020 suffered the same fate.
The 2021 season opener on Aug. 28 has been moved from Dublin to Champaign.
We will work to find a future opportunity to take the #Illini to Ireland.https://t.co/Q8FFgraVLT
— Illinois Football (@IlliniFootball) February 17, 2021
Yeah, I think it’s safe to say we won’t be seeing games overseas anytime soon. Why would we risk it during the pandemic?
We probably don’t need to be playing major college games in Ireland at all. We damn sure don’t need to be playing them over there during a pandemic.
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Keep the games in America, continue taking steps forward to protect players, coaches and staff members and we’ll have another successful season.
Seeing as how we’re seemingly gaining momentum in the war against coronavirus with every passing day, I think there’s a great chance the 2021 season is pretty much back to normal.
That might be wishful thinking, but I’m trying to be optimistic.
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Either way, there’s no reason Illinois and Nebraska need to travel to Ireland to play when the game can just happen in America.