College Football Playoff makes decision on flipping Cotton and Orange Bowl dates

College Football Playoff semifinal games are scheduled for January 9 and 10, with Penn State set to take on Notre Dame on Jan. 9 in the Orange Bowl and Ohio State set to face Texas in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10.

However, there had been some speculation about whether or not the College Football Playoff committee would flip the dates due to a suspected terror attack in New Orleans that caused the Sugar Bowl to be delayed a day.

Since Boise State and Penn State played in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31 and Notre Dame didn’t face Georgia until Jan. 2, the Nittany Lions now have a 2-day rest advantage over the Fighting Irish for their semifinal showdown. Some wondered if that would change, with the Orange Bowl potentially moving to Jan. 10.

That won’t be the case, per ESPN’s Heather Dinich. She reported on Friday morning that CFP director Rich Clark said the games won’t be moved:

“Executive director Rich Clark told me this morning that those games will not be flipped,” Dinich said. “He told me logistics are very complicated, disruptive to the other teams involved that have schedules in place, and fans who have already made their arrangements. He said there are a lot more issues, but those are some of the big ones.

“He also said they already made the concession by playing the game 18 hours or so different after moving that schedule.”

So there you have it. The Orange Bowl stays on Jan. 9 and the Irish will have to deal with a 2-day rest disadvantage. However, with all 4 teams that got first-round byes losing this week, maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

Adam Spencer

Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.