Without even playing, we already have some interesting developments in this weekend's Conference Championship Game action.
Sun Belt
Late last evening, the Sun Belt announced that it would NOT be holding its Conference Title Game because of virus issues within Coastal Carolina's program.
According to the Conference, Coastal Carolina and Louisiana will be recognized as co-champs. This is the same procedure the ACC, SEC, and Big 12 have chosen should they encounter a last-second cancellation.
The CFP Committee, meanwhile, has said that they would consider the Chanticleers as Conference Champs for rankings purposes. This is counter to 2014, when the committee took "Two True Champions" without distinction and treated the Big 12 like Seneca Crane in The Hunger Games after his co-champions gambit.
What This Means:
- If Cincy beats Tulsa in the American Championship Game, then the Bearcats are solidly NY6-bound. This was pretty much already the case; now it most definitely is.
- If Tulsa wins, Coastal is primed to nab the automatic NY6 spot. Even without playing, I doubt the undefeated Chanticleers and their 2 ranked wins would fall below the 1-loss Golden Hurricanes and their 1 ranked win.
- And if the right combination of things happen (see my previous post), Coastal would still be alive for the at-large NY6 spot - but now without that 3rd ranked win to help their cause even further.
Rose Bowl
The two semifinal games have different approaches regarding attendance. While the Sugar Bowl is allowing a limited number of fans, the Rose Bowl says absolutely no one. Not even family. This is due to Los Angeles County and Pasadena's virus-imposed restrictions on public places.
On Tuesday, ESPN provided a statement from the CFP. At the moment, the plan is to play the games in their designates spots. At the same time, there have been suggestions to move the game to another venue that will at least allow family members. Or perhaps flipping bowls in the NY6 Semifinal rotation.
Friday morning, Brian Kelly went OFF on the idea of families not even being allowed. Going so far to suggest that Notre Dame may not play in the CFP if families aren't allowed to attend (although clarifying that it would ultimately be a team decision, not a coach decision). Dabo Swinney echoed the sentiment, although without the boycott hyperbole.
For what it's worth, it's likely that the matchups would be a Bama/ND Sugar, and Clemson/Ohio State Rose Bowl if the favorites win. But of course, upsets are possible, and so all parties are certainly interested!
I cannot fathom why the 2021 Rose Bowl cannot follow 1942's example (when the Rose Bowl relocated to Duke because of West Coast threats during WWII). Hopefully this is just a negotiation tactic that resolves itself. If Pasadena cannot budge due to its critical hospital capacity, and the community concerns, then this seems like the perfect reason for an emergency switch.
As for switching bowls, I'm a lot more skeptical. For starters, would this affect the tie-ins, possibly for two years if it's a "1-for-1" switch? Would the non-semifinal Rose Bowl revert to Big Ten/PAC-12 ties this season, or simply "swap" matchups? I know that flexibility has been the name of the game during this pandemic, but that doesn't mean that there can't be some level of thinking ahead!
So while we've already lost one potential great game, the off-field games have certainly been noteworthy so far.
Happy games, everyone! Enjoy Championship Weekend!
What if they create another semifinal game? Play it at Clemson if they have to. Then the Rose Bowl can do whatever they want - Big Ten/Pac-12, two random teams, or just cancel.
ReplyDeleteI mean, it sucks for the Rose Bowl if they lose a semi, but they've also always kind of been their own thing, and it's all just TV money this year anyway. Very often, history has shown that the Rose Bowl really just needs to get over themselves.