(RADIO.COM Sports) Notre Dame can punch its ticket to the College Football Playoff with a victory against Clemson in the ACC championship game Saturday. For the Irish, it would be their second playoff nod in three years, but coach Brian Kelly cautioned Friday it's not a guarantee that Notre Dame would accept its invitation if selected as one of the four playoff teams.
The semifinal games will take place in both New Orleans (Sugar Bowl) and Pasadena (Rose Bowl) on Jan. 1. It’s the latter destination that worries Kelly, as California’s COVID-19 regulations would prevent families from attending. That’s a deal-breaker for Kelly, who sees little point in competing if players can’t share the experience with family members.
“I'm not sure we'll play in the playoffs if the parents can't be there,” Kelly said, according to ESPN. “Why would you go to a game where your families can't be part of it? What's the sense of playing a game in an area of the country where nobody can be part of it?"
Los Angeles County public health director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said previously that she doesn’t anticipate spectators to be allowed at sporting events anytime soon. College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock is optimistic a compromise can still be reached, though obviously the clock is ticking.
“My kids have been on campus since June," Kelly said. "They haven't seen their families very much at all. They've had to fight through COVID, some of them have had COVID. They can't be around their families for Christmas and you're going to tell me we're going to have a playoff and maybe one site can have families and the other can't?”
We’ve seen other programs, including Boston College, eschew bowl games amid COVID-19 concerns, but the Eagles aren't in the running for a national title like the Fighting Irish are. Perhaps the playoff committee will appease Notre Dame by slotting it in the Sugar Bowl. Or perhaps Clemson will boat-race Notre Dame on Saturday, knocking the Irish out of the playoff race and rendering Kelly's concern a moot point.
While it's hard to envision Notre Dame bypassing a chance to compete for the national title, if the Irish -- arguably the sport’s biggest draw -- were to decline their playoff invite, the NCAA could have a looming PR catastrophe on its hands.
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