The College Football Playoff is willing to postpone most of its New Year’s Six bowl games, including its two semifinal games and the national championship, if one or both teams can’t participate because of COVID-19 issues, CFP executive director Bill Hancock told ESPN on Monday evening.
The games that could be impacted are the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on Dec. 30, the two semifinal games and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Jan. 1, the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 2, and the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T, which is currently scheduled for 8 p.m. on Jan. 11 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. It’s unclear at this time if the Jan. 2 Capital One Orange Bowl will have the same flexibility because the bowl has a different contract than others.
“We are planning to play the games when they’re scheduled,” Hancock said. “We’ve said all along that we will be ready for any circumstance, and we will. But if one or both teams are not available and have to postpone a bowl game or the championship game, we will do it.”
Hancock declined to speculate about further contingency plans or any dates because it’s impossible to determine when a team would be able to return to play. The CFP has said that each participating team will continue to use the COVID-19 protocols its conference has mandated all season.
The College Football Playoff Semifinal at The Rose Bowl Game Presented by Capital One, which will feature No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Notre Dame, is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Jan. 1 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. It was moved on Saturday night from the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, so that players’ and coaches’ families and guests could attend. The College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl, which will feature No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Ohio State, is at 8 p.m. on Jan. 1 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.
