Greg Sankey addressed the possibility of potentially shifting the College Football Playoff semifinal schedule in an appearance on the Paul Finebaum Show on Thursday afternoon.
As things currently stand, the winner of Thursday’s quarterfinal matchup between Notre Dame and Georgia will battle Penn State in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 9. That game is currently slated to be the first of 2 semifinals, but the schedule has come into question with the postponement of the Sugar Bowl due to the suspected terrorist attack that took place in New Orleans on New Year’s Day.
The winner of Georgia-Notre Dame would play its semifinal game on 6 days of rest if the schedule is not altered. Penn State, who played in its quarterfinal on Tuesday evening, would also have a 2-day rest advantage over its opponent.
Sankey told Finebaum on Thursday that he’s raised the issue of potentially flipping the schedule to have the Cotton Bowl — currently scheduled for Jan. 10 — played before the Orange Bowl.
“I recognize it’s difficult, I don’t know if it is impossible,” Sankey said. “I raised that [question] yesterday and the focus quickly became ‘today’s kickoff, today’s game, and we’ll see what happens.’
“This is not an SEC related issue, it’s for both teams. But I also know the communities have dates, they have plans. There are stadium availability issues that can arise.”
The SEC commissioner acknowledged that the schedule may not be flexible on such short notice and called upon the programs involved to make the necessary adjustments.
“The backdrop is there was an unforeseen, unexpected, incredible, horrible tragedy that has altered the game schedule,” Sankey said. “Sometimes, just like within a game, you have to adapt, you have to adjust. Right now, with the schedule set, these teams will have to adjust their preparation based on the schedule that lies ahead.”
Georgia and Notre Dame will face off in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday afternoon. Barring any adjustments, the winner will play Penn State in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
