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The Rose Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal between Alabama and Michigan needed overtime, so the start of the Sugar Bowl semifinal between Texas and Washington at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome has been pushed back.
In a game that kicked off shortly after 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT), the Crimson Tide and Wolverines finished regulation tied at 20 thanks to a late game-tying Michigan touchdown. The winner of the Rose Bowl takes on either the Longhorns or Huskies in next Monday’s championship game in Houston.
The Sugar Bowl’s original kickoff time at 8:45 p.m. ET — 7:45 p.m. in New Orleans — already would have made for a late night for college football fans. Then again, most recently, Georgia topped Ohio State in last year’s Peach Bowl semifinal in a game that ended just after the stroke of midnight ET on January 1.
Fans hoping for an early bedtime, namely those that have to work Tuesday, are probably out of luck. They’ll surely be out of luck if the Sugar Bowl needs more than 4 quarters to decide.
Here’s a sampling of the social media reaction:
ESPN is going to hold the Sugar Bowl kickoff until this ends no matter what, right?
— Yesh Ginsburg (@yesh222) January 2, 2024
well i’m gonna need the Sugar Bowl to push the kickoff back to 8PM, no reason for game overlap, Superdome participants can wait 15 extra minutes
— Trey (@semaj_htx) January 2, 2024
Sugar Bowl is/was set to kickoff in 16 minutes. Does that slide back to allow for OT in the Rose Bowl?
— Matt (@MattMMXI) January 2, 2024
This means the Sugar Bowl will kickoff even later?! Who makes these decisions
— Jordan (@RIPbiu4j) January 2, 2024
Good God, the Sugar Bowl won't kickoff until around 9:15p EST now.
— Harry From CBus (@HarryFromCBus) January 2, 2024
Can someone explain this 5 pm kickoff to me? Why not schedule the Sugar Bowl for like a 3 pm EST kickoff (2 pm local time) then the Rose Bowl in Cali for 7:30 pm. Then both games would be later local time kickoffs and I wouldn't have to stay up til 1 am.
— Dustin Mullins (@DustinMullins1) January 2, 2024
So kickoff at the Sugar Bowl is now 10:03, right?
— Pete Iacobelli (@PIacobelli_AP) January 2, 2024
lol, the Sugar Bowl is going to kick off at like 10pm Eastern.
— Norm Charlatan (@normcharlatan) January 2, 2024
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
