COVID-19 is wreaking havoc across the country and many athletic games are being postponed or canceled altogether.
Because of that, the College Football Committee has revealed new guidelines about how a national champion will be crowned if COVID-19 comes into play.
From College Football Playoff Committee:
Playoff Semifinals (Cotton and Orange Bowls) if one team is unavailable to play– The unavailable team shall forfeit the game and its opponent would advance to the national championship game.
Playoff Semifinals (Cotton and Orange Bowls) if both teams are unavailable to play in one semifinal– The semifinal game would be declared “no contest” and the team winning the other semifinal game would be declared the CFP National Champion.
Playoff Semifinals (Cotton and Orange Bowls) if three teams are unavailable to play– The semifinal game in which two teams are unable to play would be declared “no contest.” In the other semifinal game, the team unable to play shall forfeit the game and its opponent would be declared CFP National Champion.
CFP National Championship– If the team’s unavailability is determined after the Playoff Semifinals have been conducted, the national championship game in Indianapolis may be rescheduled to no later than Friday, January 14. If one team is able to play and the other is not and the game cannot be rescheduled or is rescheduled and cannot be played, then the team unable to play shall forfeit the game and the other team shall be declared CFP National Champion. If both teams are unable to play on either an original or rescheduled date, then the game shall be declared “no contest” and the CFP National Championship shall be vacated for this season.
As far as the Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl go, the following would happen:
Fiesta and Peach Bowls– The CFP, bowl game and ESPN shall attempt to identify an alternate date for the game within one week of the scheduled date; if no date can be identified, the game would be considered no contest.
