The College Football Playoff is willing to delay most of the Six Bowl games on New Year’s Day, including the two semifinals and the national championship, if one or both teams are unable to participate due to problems with COVID-19, CFP director told Bill Hancock to ESPN. on Monday evening.
The games that can be affected are the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on December 30, the two semifinals and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on January 1, the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl on January 2, and the College Football Playoff National Championship presented by AT&T , which is currently scheduled for 8:00 p.m. on January 11 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. It is unclear at this point whether the January 2 Capital One Orange Bowl will have the same flexibility, as the bowl has a different contract than others.
“We plan to play the games when they are scheduled,” said Hancock. “We have always said 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.”
Hancock declined to speculate on further contingency plans or dates, as it is impossible to determine when a team could return to play. The GVB has said each participating team will continue to use the COVID-19 protocols imposed by the conference throughout the season.
The College Football Playoff Semifinal at The Rose Bowl Game hosted by Capital One, with No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Notre Dame, is scheduled for 4:00 pm on January 1 at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. It was moved from the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California on Saturday night so that the families of players and coaches and guests could participate. The College Football Playoff Semifinal in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, with No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Ohio State, is at 8 p.m. on January 1 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.