Clemson is in the playoff. But who, and where, will Tigers play?
Clemson’s ticket is punched for another College Football Playoff.
It’s just a matter of who the Tigers will be facing in the semifinals and where the game will be played Jan. 1. If Alabama defeats Florida on Saturday in the SEC title game, Clemson will be headed to the Rose Bowl, although the game won’t take place in California.
The College Football Playoff announced Saturday night that the game will be relocated to Dallas, Texas so that a limited number of fans, including family members of players and coaches, can attend.
The Tournament of Roses had appealed unsuccessfully to have 400 to 500 fans at the game, according to reports, leading to the game being moved.
Los Angeles County is under a stay-home order that took effect earlier this month. Pasadena, where the Rose Bowl was set to be located, can set its own rules but has followed the county’s rules on those matters related to COVID-19 protocols.
This will be the first time since 1942 that the Rose Bowl will take place outside of California. The game was moved to Duke University that year because of the attacks on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
On Friday, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney made his feelings known about not wanting to play in California if fans — especially parents of players — could not attend.
After Saturday’s win over Notre Dame, Clemson running back Travis Etienne also said he wasn’t too keen about the possibility of playing without fans.
“To me, it would be kind of weird, to say the least, to go all the way to California and not have my parents there watching me,” Etienne said. “It wouldn’t make sense to travel across the country and not be able to play in front of my mom and dad.”
Clemson played two games this season without fans in the stands: the opener against Wake Forest and then recently at Virginia Tech.
Spectators were allowed to attend Saturday’s ACC championship, with capacity at Bank of America Stadium set at 5,240 fans.
The capacity limit was based off of North Carolina state and local regulations during COVID-19. All fans were in the lower two levels, or in suites. The fan split was about 50-50 between the two teams.
Clemson projections for CFP game
With Alabama’s win over Florida in the SEC championship game, Clemson will likely be the No. 2 seed in the playoffs.
ESPN’s David Pollack and The Athletic’s Stuart Mandel are among the many who think the Tigers will face Ohio State for the second straight year in the semifinals. The Buckeyes won the Big 10 Ten Conference Championship on Saturday but only played six games because the Big 10 started its season so late.
Clemson defeated Ohio State 29-23 last season in the semifinals.
Is Notre Dame in the playoff?
According to Swinney, Notre Dame deserves to be in the playoff. Saturday was the Irish’s first loss this season. Notre Dame defeated Clemson earlier and also has a win over North Carolina.
“Absolutely Notre Dame deserves to be in because they’re daggum 10-1, they played 11 games and twice stepped in the ring with Clemson,” Swinney said Saturday. “No way would I punish someone for playing more games. That’s what we seem to be doing. I don’t get that. Notre Dame should be in.”
Notre Dame’s top competition for a spot will be Ohio State and Texas A&M. The Aggies (8-1) were most recently No. 5 in the CFP rankings, have a win over Alabama and have won seven in a row over all-SEC competition to wrap up the season.
What time is the CFP Selection Show?
The 2020 Selection Show for the College Football Playoff begins at noon Sunday on ESPN. Playoff teams will be revealed at 12:15 p.m., with New Year’s Six bowl matchups at 2:30 p.m.
This story was originally published December 19, 2020 at 9:34 PM.
