Tag: College Football Playoffs
Clemson coach Swinney voted Ohio State No. 11 in coaches’ poll
On his final ballot of the regular season, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney ranked 10 teams more deserving of one of the College Football Playoff spots than his Sugar Bowl opponent, Ohio State.
Swinney voted the Buckeyes 11th in a ballot for the Amway Coaches’ Poll that consisted of this top four: Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame and Texas A&M.
The 6-0 Buckeyes drew criticism from coaches around the country because of their incomplete schedule, which required a rules change by the Big Ten to permit Ohio State to play in the conference championship game on Saturday.
Swinney also made his feelings evident in an interview with the Rich Eisen Show.
“I think any time you step in between the lines, the game of football, there’s a lot that can happen. A lot,” Swinney said. “I mean, heck, in 2017, we lost to a three-win or four-win Syracuse team and still went to the playoffs. So anything can happen. Guys can get hurt. There’s a lot. So I think the fact that we’re going to have 11 games as well as the SEC teams — I mean, you look at Florida and Texas A&M and Alabama. I mean, these teams are going to have 11 games this year.”
“It’s incredible and I think the Big Ten had the same opportunity and they chose not to play, and I think the only reason they ended up playing is because of the leadership of the SEC and the ACC and the Big 12, and have demonstrated that we can do it and do it in a safe way. So it’s been an unbelievably challenging season, that’s for sure. But I think that the committee’s going to have some tough, tough, tough questions to answer.”
He continued: “Obviously, as coaches, we don’t control any of that stuff. So I do think that our team has played incredibly well. We had a double-overtime loss at the No. 2 team in the country now in Notre Dame, who’s a great team and an unbelievable game. Again, no matter what happens for Notre Dame or Clemson, nothing changes in my mind, as far as both of these teams being in the top four.”
Alabama head coach Nick Saban argued Sunday that, while Ohio State is talented, the psychological toll of the elongated season and the physical challenges of playing a full SEC schedule made for an uneven playing field.
The chorus of challenges was echoed by A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, whose 8-1 team had one loss — much like No. 4 Notre Dame — but wound up in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 2 against No. 13 North Carolina.
CFP selection committee chair Gary Barta contended Sunday during the bowl pairings announcement that there was “no dissension” among committee members about placing Ohio State at No. 3. The Buckeyes will play Clemson Jan. 1 in the Sugar Bowl.
Notre Dame lost only to Clemson in the ACC championship game. Texas A&M lost to Alabama.
No. 1 Alabama faces No. 4 Notre Dame in the other CFP semifinal on Jan. 1 in the Rose Bowl, which will be played at Arlington, Texas, because of COVID-19 issues.
–Field Level Media
Kelly: Notre Dame might ditch CFP if parents not allowed
A win Saturday in the ACC championship game would seal a College Football Playoff semifinal berth for No. 2 Notre Dame, but Irish coach Brian Kelly said he doesn’t know whether his team would play if players’ families can’t be in the stands.
“I’m not sure we’ll play in the playoffs if the parents can’t be there,” Kelly told reporters Friday. “Why would be we play if you can’t have families at the game? If you can’t have families at bowl games, why would you go to a game where your families can’t be part of it? What’s the sense of playing a game in an area of the country where nobody can be part of it?”
The Irish (10-0) will meet No. 3 Clemson (9-1) in the ACC title game on Saturday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., where 5,240 fans will be allowed amid the coronavirus pandemic. Notre Dame, an independent, joined the ACC on a temporary basis this season to be able to play a full slate of games.
Even with a loss to Clemson, Notre Dame wouldn’t be out of contention for a CFP semifinal berth.
One of the semifinals is scheduled to be played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. With Los Angeles County experiencing a dangerous spike in COVID-19 cases, a ban on fans at sporting events remains in effect.
The county had 14,270 new cases on Thursday, and the county Department of Health Services reported only 18 open beds in intensive care units.
The second semifinal is set for the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Both games are scheduled for Jan. 1.
Bill Hancock, the executive director of the College Football Playoffs, said earlier this week he hoped Los Angeles County would relax its restrictions on fans for the day.
“At this moment, the College Football Playoff looks forward to playing one of the two semifinal playoff games at the Rose Bowl, as scheduled,” Hancock said in a statement. “As we move forward with our planning, we continue to hope that the Rose Bowl’s appeal to government officials to allow the families of student-athletes to attend will be permitted, just as student-athlete families will be welcomed at the Sugar Bowl, the other New Year’s Six games and the championship game in Miami.”
Kelly said his players shouldn’t be deprived of having their families in attendance.
“Maybe they [CFP] need to spend a little less time on who the top four teams are and figure out how to get parents into these games because it is an absolute shame and a sham if parents can’t be watching their kids play,” Kelly said. “My kids have been on campus since June. They haven’t seen their families very much at all. They’ve had to fight through COVID, some of them have had COVID. They can’t be around their families for Christmas, and you’re going to tell me we’re going to have a playoff and maybe one site can have families and the other can’t? Please.
“Somebody’s got to wake up in that room and figure this out or you might as well call this the professional league. I am so sick and tired of this playoff committee talking about having sites where you can’t have parents at and their families. It’s ridiculous.”
Earlier this fall, athletic directors Martin Jarmond of UCLA and Mike Bohn of USC asked county and state health officials to allow family members of their football teams to attend games and were denied.
UCLA plays its home games at the Rose Bowl.
The Los Angeles Rams and Chargers also have played their home games at the new SoFi Stadium in nearby Inglewood without any fans in attendance.
An appearance in one of the New Year’s Six bowls and College Football Playoff games is a financial windfall for schools and conferences. In 2018-19, the Rose, Sugar, Orange, Fiesta, Peach and Cotton bowls, plus the national championship game, paid a combined $549 million to leagues and participants, USA Today reported.
–Field Level Media