The College Football Playoff has held firm that no matter what develops over the next six weeks or so, its semifinals will take place on Jan. 1 in Pasadena, California, and New Orleans, just as they would in a normal year. The winners of those games will then play in Miami 10 days later for the national championship.
But as COVID-19 cases rise exponentially around the country, a winter surge that is presenting even greater challenges to the college football season than we’ve seen at any point, it’s hard to shake the feeling that the CFP is taking a massive risk here.