No makeup games in playoff if virus sidelines a team
If a team is unavailable to play in College Football Playoff semifinals on New Year’s Eve because of coronavirus issues, the game will be forfeited and the available team will advance to the championship.
With coronavirus cases spiking across the country due to the omicron variant, the CFP announced Wednesday contingency plans for the semifinals and national championship game, which is scheduled for Jan. 10 in Indianapolis but could be delayed as much as four days.
No. 1 Alabama is scheduled to face No. 4 Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl in one Dec. 31 semifinal and No. 2 Michigan is set to play No. 3 Georgia in the Orange Bowl in the nightcap of the CFP doubleheader.
Not long before the CFP announced its contingency plans, Alabama announced offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien and offensive line coach Doug Marrone tested positive for the coronavirus and were isolating with mild symptoms.
Also, No. 23 Texas A&M became the first team to drop out of a bowl game, citing coronavirus issues and season-ending injuries as the reasons it would not have enough available players for the Gator Bowl against No. 20 Wake Forest on Dec. 31.
As college basketball faced a wave of cancellations and postponements due to the omicron surge over the last week, it seemed only a matter of time before it impacted bowl season.
“As we prepare for the Playoff, it’s wise and necessary to put into place additional precautions to protect those who will play and coach the games,” College Football Playoff Executive Director Bill Hancock said. “These policies will better protect our students and staffs while providing clarity in the event worstcase scenarios result.”
The contingency plans were agreed to by the CFP management committee, comprised of the 10 FBS conference commissioners and Notre Dame’s athletic director.
The CFP said each school will be responsible for determining whether it has a sufficient number of available players.
While there will be no rescheduling of either semifinal, the championship game could be delayed until as late as Jan. 14.
If a team cannot play in the title game, the available team will be declared national champion. If neither team has enough available players by Jan. 14, the championship will be considered vacated.
For the semifinals, if both teams scheduled to play each other are unavailable, that game shall be declared a no contest and the winner of the other semifinal will be declared national champion. If three semifinal teams are unavailable on Dec. 31, the team that is able to play will be declared national champion.
Earlier this week, Alabama coach Nick Saban said more than 90% of his team was vaccinated with a booster shot, and players were being allowed to go home for a few days before the defending national champion Tide traveled to Dallas on Dec. 26.
“We give them a care package with everything they need to say safe, and we have implemented all the protocols here since we’ve been back that we had last year in terms of wearing masks to meetings, washing hands, social distancing in meetings,” Saban said. “And we are encouraging the players to do that when they leave here. So we’re really putting the protocols in place that we used a year ago, which was helpful to us.”
At Michigan, the plan was for all the players to get booster shots as a team on Wednesday.
The vaccination rates among college football teams are purportedly much higher than the general population. Many coaches boasted about how the vast majority of their players had been immunized before the season — including Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh.
Texas A&M out: No. 23 Texas A&M won’t play in the Gator Bowl against Wake Forest on Dec. 31 because of coronavirus issues and season-ending injuries, but the Demon Deacons might still get a game.
Two sources told the Associated Press on Wednesday night the NCAA Football Oversight Committee will meet Thursday morning to discuss allowing another team to take Texas A&M’s place.
The people spoke on condition of anonymity because neither was authorized to speak publicly about the possible options.
Among the possibilities are allowing a 5-7 team to take the spot, the normal procedure to fill bowl games when there are not enough teams with six victories.
The NCAA uses Academic Progress Rate to rank 5-7 teams for bowl eligibility. Rutgers has the highest APR among the 5-7 teams. The school has informed decision-makers the team could be ready to play on a week’s notice, the people said.
The Aggies (8-4) had an upand-down season where they went 4-4 in SEC play. They beat then-No. 1 Alabama on Oct. 9 but wrapped up the season with a disappointing 27-24 loss at LSU. Army 24, Missouri 22: Cole Talley kicked a 41-yard field goal as time ran out and the Black Knights rallied to win the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas.
After the Tigers took a 22-21 lead on a touchdown with 1:11 to play, third-string quarterback Jabari Laws led Army (9-4) to the Missouri 24-yard line, setting up Talley’s game-winner.
Army backup QB Tyhier Tyler came on after starter Christian Anderson was hurt in the fourth quarter and threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Walters for Army’s first lead, 21-16. Anderson and JaKobi Buchanan scored on runs of 22 and 10 yards, respectively, for Army.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Brady Cook threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Keke Chism with 71 seconds left to put the Tigers (6-7) ahead, but their twopoint conversion attempt failed. Cook also ran for a 30-yard score in his first collegiate start.