Alabama Football: Will the National Championship be postponed. Let’s review who makes that decision.
Since Monday afternoon, rumors have been circulating the Ohio State Buckeyes might have to take on Alabama Football short-handed. The rumors claimed several Ohio State players would be unavailable for the National Championship game. Included in those rumors were claims the Buckeyes had requested the game be moved to Jan. 18.
Tuesday afternoon mainstream media began to discuss the story. Early reports confirmed Ohio State has some current COVID issues and that they might largely affect one position group. Like many schools, Ohio State does not report on COVID specifics, leaving room for doubt among Buckeyes and Crimson Tide fans.
Alabama football fans are not pleased about the possibility of the National Championship game being delayed until Jan. 18. Some Crimson Tide fans believe the Big Ten and the Playoff Committee gave the Buckeyes unfair advantages already this season. A few Alabama football fans suggest the rumored COVID issue is just a Buckeye ploy to allow Justin Fields more time to heal.
Stepping back from the unknowns and the passionate responses, another question is what group makes the call about postponing the game. Fans on both sides are ready to blame the NCAA for any decision.
Late afternoon Tuesday, Ohio State stated it is planning to play on Jan. 11. The media reports cite sources stating there has been serious debate about the potential postponement. Ohio State wanted the game pushed to Jan. 18. Alabama Football disagreed.
Given the existing quarantine guidelines approved by the Big Ten, a one-week delay might not change much. The mandated quarantine period is 17 days. Ohio State players testing positive after the semi-final might not be able to play on Jan. 18 either.
Who then will decide if the game must be postponed? It is not the NCAA, who has nothing to do with running the FBS college football National Championship. A simple solution would be for the two schools and media partner, Disney to agree. Absent such concurrence, somebody or some group must decide. It will not be the College Football Selection Committee. There are two other groups involved in the CFP. They are the Board of Managers, made up of school presidents and chancellors and the Management Committee, made up of conference commissioners and the Notre Dame athletic director.
CFBP Executive, Bill Hancock has never said how such a decision would be made. It is expected the ‘Management’ group would be looked to for a consensus and if none evolved, perhaps the Board of Managers would make a final call. Hancock said Tuesday afternoon, the National Championship game will take place, as planned on Jan. 11.
Early Tuesday evening this tweet clarified the positions of the two schools.
Ohio State AD Gene Smith and I have had multiple conversations. Both schools are focused on playing in the @CFBPlayoff Championship Game on January 11th. #RollTide
— Greg Byrne (@Greg_Byrne) January 5, 2021
Multiple reports Tuesday afternoon stated SEC Commissioner, Greg Sankey strongly opposed a postponement.