The college football playoff is set to postpone most of its games with 6 New Year’s bowls, including the two semifinals and the national championship, if one or both teams cannot participate due to COVID-19 problems, said the CFP executive director , Bill Hancock, for ESPN Monday night.
Games that could be affected are Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on December 30, the two semifinal games and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on January 1, PlayStation Fiesta Bowl on January 2 and College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T, which is currently scheduled for 8 a.m. on Jan. 11 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. It is not clear at this time whether the Orange One Capital One bowl from January 2 will have the same flexibility, because the bowl has a different contract than others.
“We plan to play the games when they’re scheduled,” Hancock said. “I’ve always said we’ll be prepared for any circumstance and we’ll do it. But if one or both teams aren’t available and have to postpone a bowl game or a championship game, we’ll do it.”
Hancock declined to speculate on other contingency plans or other dates, as it is impossible to determine when a team will be able to return to play. The PCP stated that each participating team will continue to use the COVID-19 protocols imposed by its conference throughout the season.
The semifinals of the College Football Playoff at the Rose Bowl Game College, presented by Capital One, which will include the number 1 Alabama vs. number 4 Notre Dame, is scheduled for 4:00 pm on January 1 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. He moved Saturday night from Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, so that the families and guests of the players and coaches can participate. The semifinals of the Allstate Sugar Bowl college football playoff, which will place 2nd Clemson vs. no. 3 Ohio State, is at 8:00 pm on January 1 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.