Bob Bowlsby says College Football Playoff, New Year’s Six might be pushed back

Did the commissioner of the Big 12 know he just dropped a bomb when he appeared on the Sirius XM College station today in a phone interview? Because he is the first administrator in college football to say that the College Football Playoff and the New Year’s Six bowl games might be pushed back due to the delays involving Covid-19 during the 2020 season.

The transcript of Bowlsby in full:

“Well I’m on the CFP Operations Committee, and we’ve spent some time talking about that. We haven’t come to any closure on it. But there is some latitude to postpone if that need should arise, and the same is true with some of the New Year’s Six games. But within reason, you can do those things.

I don’t know if I see us playing a championship game in February, but you just never know. These are unusual times, and things that might otherwise not be acceptable have to be considered in this kind of circumstance.”

That would be, um, pretty big news there Bob.

It also opens up the possibility of leagues pushing back their scheduled conference championship games. Most games are taking place on December 19th, but a move like htis might let the Power Five and Group of Five push games back a week or two, allowing more schools to makeup games that have been postponed or canceled (and let’s be honest, also create more inventory for their TV partners).

Conference championship games being played after the last available weekend would need NCAA approval, but the Paper Tiger of Indianapolis has never been so benevolent as during Covid-19. If you requested a waiver to put a craps table at the 50-yard line so players could bet the pass line on second down, it might be granted in the current climate.

Bowlsby seems to have cracked the door for more college football later in 2020 and beyond. We’ll see if other power brokers get on board quickly.