The College Football Playoff will proceed this fall without the Big Ten and Pac-12. Most notably, the Rose Bowl will indeed host a semifinal game on Jan. 1 without either of its two longtime participants.
The playoff released its upcoming schedule for the fall 2020 season, with its weekly rankings show on ESPN starting Tuesday, Nov. 17 and ending on Sunday, Dec. 20, as previously announced. The entire schedule for the rankings show in the 2020 season is as follows:
- Tuesday, November 17
- Tuesday, November 24
- Tuesday, December 1
- Tuesday, December 8
- Tuesday, December 15
- Sunday, December 20 (Selection Day)
While there were no changes with the postseason games -- the semifinals will still take place on New Year's Day with the College Football Playoff National Championship being played on Jan. 11 in Miami Gardens -- this marks the first time the playoff has made a major announcement regarding upcoming plans since the Big Ten and Pac-12 postponed their seasons until the spring.
The Rose Bowl has been featured in two playoff semifinals in the CFP era: in 2015, a 59-20 win for Oregon over Florida State and 2018, a 54-48 double overtime win by Georgia over Oklahoma. Still, to not have the Big Ten or Pac-12 eligible for a slot in the Rose Bowl this far in advance speaks to just how disjointed the 2020 college football season will be, assuming it can even be played from start to finish.
Moreover, the playoff is prepared to go on as planned and -- again, assuming college football gets this far -- crown a national champion. That means the Big Ten and Pac-12 are potentially forfeiting that opportunity as well, though it remains unclear if a spring postseason is viable.
Then again, nothing about this year has been normal or made any sense, and trying to assign it arbitrarily through sports is likely a fool's errand anyway.
