Still the same
Fan restrictions for Rose Bowl concern committee
Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson, Ohio State still top playoff rankings.
Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson and Ohio State will enter championship weekend in position to make the College Football Playoff with very little drama.
In fact, where the semifinals will be played might be more in doubt than who will play in them.
The top five teams were locked into their places Tuesday night for the fourth straight week, with the Crimson Tide (10-0) leading the way as it prepares to play Florida for the Southeastern Conference championship.
The Fighting Irish (10-0) are second and Clemson is third going into their Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.
Ohio State (5-0) is fourth going into the Big Ten title game against Northwestern, and Texas A&M is on deck at No. 5. The Aggies play at Tennessee in their last regularseason game Saturday.
If all the favorites win — that includes Clemson (9-1) in the rematch with Notre Dame — the current top four likely would be reordered a bit and placed in the semifinals.
If the Irish beat the Tigers for the second time this season, the selection committee’s job becomes a little trickier.
The semifinals are scheduled to be played Jan. 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, and the Sugar Bowl in
New Orleans.
The current COVID-19 restrictions in California will prohibit the Rose Bowl from having any fans in attendance, including family members of the players.
That has become a point of discussion among the 10 FBS conference commissioners who make up the playoff management committee. Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick is also a part of the management committee.
CFP executive director Bill Hancock said the Rose Bowl remains the site of the game. During a conference call with reporters Tuesday night, Hancock declined to say if the game would be moved out of California if the restriction was not lifted.
Big Ten
Two of the seven Big Ten Champions Week games were canceled Tuesday because of COVID-19 outbreaks as an uncertain postseason looms for college football. The annual in-state rivalry game between Indiana and Purdue set for Friday was canceled for the second time in two weeks and the third time this season. Michigan’s game at No. 18 Iowa on Saturday also was canceled, the third straight Wolverines game to be called off.
Virginia Tech
Athletic director Whit Babcock painted a stark picture of what the Hokies went through during the season amid the coronavirus pandemic. “Well over half of our team, maybe three-fourths, contacted COVID since March,” Babcock said in an hourlong Zoom call. “Eight of our 10 full-time coaches contacted it, including our defensive coordinator (Justin Hamilton) missing the first two games.”
Kentucky
Coach Mark Stoops has hired Los Angeles Rams assistant quarterbacks coach Liam Coen, 35, as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach to revive the Southeastern Conference’s worst passing game.