OSU flying to Florida on Saturday
Ohio State will fly to Florida on Saturday as scheduled for its College Football Playoff championship game against Alabama, Buckeyes athletic director Gene Smith told The Columbus Dispatch on Friday.
That ends speculation that COVID-19 cases among the Buckeyes might force postponement of the game until Jan. 18.
“We leave tomorrow,” Smith said in a text. Ohio State coach Ryan Day has said this week that the COVID-19 outbreak that has forced several key players to miss each of the Buckeyes’ recent games remains an issue for Monday’s game but that he fully expected his team to play.
Al.com of Birmingham, Ala., reported that both the Crimson Tide and Buckeyes had completed their COVID-19 testing. Smith would not confirm that. Ohio State’s flight leaves Saturday afternoon.
“Team arrives at 5:30,” Smith texted. The title game will be played Monday night at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
“As I have said all week, the game is on,” College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock told ESPN.com Friday. “Nothing has changed. Alabama’s team will be traveling to Miami tonight, and Ohio State’s guys will be arriving tomorrow. We are looking forward to a great night for college football.”
Michigan has decided to stick with coach Jim Harbaugh, finalizing a new, five-year deal that cuts his guaranteed compensation but gives him an opportunity to make up for the financial loss if he can start winning championships. The school will pay him $4 million in 2021 with a chance to make nearly $8 million in the fifth year of his contract, according to the memorandum of understanding signed by Harbaugh and athletic director Warde Manuel on Friday.
Men’s college basketball: No. 19 Clemson postponed men’s basketball games at North Carolina on Saturday and at Syracuse on Tuesday. The Atlantic Coast Conference said a combination of a positive test for COVID-19, contact tracing and quarantining within Clemson’s program made it necessary to postpone the games . ... No. 13 Missouri has paused all men’s basketball activities as a result of COVID-19 protocols and postponed Saturday night’s home game against LSU.
NHL: Penguins Hall of Fame radio play-byplay announcer Mike Lange is taking an early intermission before starting his 46th season in the booth. The team announced Friday that the 72-year-old Lange will sit out the beginning of the 2021 season as a precaution due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “I’ve decided to opt out of the start of the season after huddling with doctors about the course of COVID-19,” Lange said in a statement. “They’ve suggested it probably is best to receive the vaccinations before going back in the booth.” Josh Getzoff will handle the play-by-play duties in Lange’s absence.
Women’s college basketball: Down three key players who are quarantined and road weary, No. 1 Stanford needed every defensive stop down the stretch. Haley Jones returned to her hometown and had 18 points and six rebounds, and No. 1 Stanford beat No. 11 Oregon 70-63 in women’s basketabll action Friday. The Cardinal were playing in Northern California for the first time in nearly a month.