Championship still on schedule, but COVID concerns chase college football to finish line
For a few hours Tuesday, college football faced one of its worst possible nightmares.
COVID-19 issues had emerged within the Ohio State Buckeyes, according to multiple reports, and there was at least a slight concern the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship would have to be delayed past Monday.
With his school less than a week away from playing for a national title, Gene Smith had to shift his focus back to the worsening pandemic.
“We plan to play Jan. 11,” the Ohio State athletic director said in a statement Tuesday.
On Wednesday, both the Buckeyes and Alabama Crimson Tide held their media days as regularly scheduled. Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian and six of his players spoke via Zoom, and Ohio State defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs and six of his did, too.
None of the 14 expressed concern about the potential delay of the CFP National Championship, which is still scheduled for Monday in Miami Gardens. Instead, both teams viewed it as more of the in one of college football’s most unusual seasons ever.
“I wouldn’t say it’s too difficult,” Crimson Tide wide receiver John Metchie said. “We just focus on what we have to do to prepare for the game, and whenever that is and whatever date it is, I know that we’ll be ready and well prepared to play.”
Alabama (12-0, 10-0 Southeastern) got through its season mostly unscathed as the SEC started play just a few weeks later than usual. The Buckeyes (7-0, 5-0 Big Ten) went through an even more unusual season as the Big Ten originally announced it wouldn’t play a season at all before backtracking and playing a shortened season in the fall.
Ohio State originally didn’t meet the minimum games threshold to play in the 2020 Big Ten Championship Game, either, until the league got rid of the minimum to open the door for the Buckeyes to win the conference and reach the Playoff.
As of now, any COVID issues aren’t significant enough to disrupt Ohio State’s season once again and the Buckeyes remain vigilant because of what they’ve been through.
“Obviously, we haven’t been silent about how hard it’s been,” Ohio State defensive end Jonathon Cooper said. “It’s still tough, even though you’ve got to finish strong and the message that we’ve kind of been saying as a team is we’ve got one more. There’s nothing else after this. This is why you play football. This is why you come to Ohio State.
“I feel like if you can’t do it for one more, then what was the point of going through all that work in the beginning.”
Fowler anticipates great atmosphere despite small crowd
Hard Rock Stadium, as has been the case all season, will be limiting attendance for the national championship game to about 20 percent of maximum capacity to ensure social distancing.
Despite that, ESPN’s Chris Fowler, who will be calling the title game, said he believes the small crowd — expected to be between 12,000 and 15,000 in the 66,000-seat stadium — will be enough to create an in-person experience that feels like a national championship.
“I think there will be enough people in there to make it feel like there is an atmosphere,” Fowler said Wednesday during an ESPN conference call. “Very grateful the Orange Bowl folks get to run this game in an exceptional season. If you have experienced people that are used to staging big events, as opposed to one-off local committees, it helps a lot. I’m encouraged by the steps they’ve taken, and I think they’re going to run a really nice event.”
And Monday will mark the finality of a college football season unlike any other, one that saw dozens of games canceled, schedules re-arranged on the fly and teams navigating a pandemic.
Was it a success? Fowler thinks so.
“I do think making it to the finish line means it succeeded,” Fowler said. “I mean, against the odds, against a lot of smart people who thought it wasn’t prudent and wasn’t possible., the sport did make it through. Some conferences succeeded much better than others. The Pac-12 didn’t really have a season — it pains me to say that; I love that conference. Were they even a part of college football 2020? I’m not sure. Other conferences played most of their games. It was problematic. The staggered starts, the different protocols, fans were confused. It gives rise to all sorts of theories and suspicions, which wasn’t good for the sport, but for the most people, teams were able to manage it. ... By and large, the teams that have the infrastructure, the organization, the resources in place, handled it pretty well.”
Jaylen Waddle returns to practice
Sarkisian confirmed Crimson Tide wide receiver Jaylen Waddle returned to practice Tuesday, but didn’t commit to him playing in the National Championship next week.
Waddle suffered a severe ankle injury early in Alabama’s win over Tennessee on Oct. 24 and had not played or practiced since that game until Tuesday. Prior to his injury, Waddle had caught 25 passes for 557 yards and four touchdowns in Alabama’s first four games of the season.
Said Sarkisian: “We’ll see where it goes from here.”
This story was originally published January 6, 2021 at 5:22 PM.
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