There will no longer be a College Football Playoff semifinal played at the Rose Bowl this year, and that could mean a return trip to Dallas for Ohio State.
The Rose Bowl and the College Football Playoff announced Saturday night that the CFP semifinal that was scheduled to be played in Pasadena has been moved to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, due to restrictions in the state of California that would not allow any fans – including family members of players – to be in attendance if the game was played at the Rose Bowl.
“The College Football Playoff Management Committee and Tournament of Roses have mutually agreed that, given the growing number of COVID-19 cases in Southern California, the CFP semifinal game previously scheduled to be played at the Rose Bowl Stadium will now be played at AT&T Stadium,” CFP executive director Bill Hancock said in a statement. “The game in Dallas will still be played in the mid-afternoon window on New Year’s Day. We are pleased that parents and loved ones will now be able to see their students play in the game.”
That news could be relevant to Ohio State, as it appears likely the Buckeyes – widely projected to be the No. 3 seed in the CFP behind No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Clemson – could be headed to play the Tigers in that game.
Per Saturday night's announcement, “it is not yet determined if the CFP semifinal in Dallas will be called the CFP Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Capital One.”
While Ohio State has a rich history of playing in the Rose Bowl, it is also 3-0 in games played at AT&T Stadium, including its national championship win over Oregon to conclude the 2014 season. The Buckeyes also defeated USC in the 2017 Cotton Bowl and beat TCU in a neutral-site game at AT&T Stadium, the home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, in 2018.
