Yahoo Sports College Football Playoff denies request for Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl time swap
MIAMI, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- The College Football Playoff denied a request made by Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey to flip the times and dates for the Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl, a committee spokesman confirmed Friday.
Sankey said Thursday on the SEC Network's Paul Finebaum Show he made the request on Wednesday.
Notre Dame, the seventh-seeded playoff team, will take on No. 6 Penn State in the Orange Bowl, the first College Football Playoff semifinal, at 7:30 p.m. EST Thursday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
No. 5 Texas, out of the SEC, will battle No. 8 Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl, the other semifinal, at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 10 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The winners of those meetings will face off in the national finale Jan. 20 in Atlanta.
Sankey said his request was "not an SEC-related issue." He cited a short turnaround time for the Fighting Irish, compared to the other three teams remaining in the field.
"This is not an SEC-related issue; it's for both teams," Sankey said. "But I also know that the communities have dates. They have plans. There are stadium availability issues that can arise. What I've not heard back from anybody after having asked the question is really a yes or no answer to the question I asked."
The request to switch game times would allow for Notre Dame players to receive more rest. The Irish were initially set to play No. 2 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on Wednesday, but that game was postponed to Thursday after a pickup truck attack in New Orleans resulted in 14 deaths and dozens of injuries.
Because of that game time and date change, the Irish will get six days of rest between games, instead of the seven they initially would have gotten. Penn State, who beat No. 3 Boise State in Tuesday's Fiesta Bowl, will have eight days between games before facing the Irish in Miami Gardens.
Ohio State and Texas, who both played quarterfinals Wednesday, will each get eight days of rest before meeting in the Cotton Bowl.
