A Jersey Guy: CFP dealing with COVID surge

The quote is legendary: For when the one Great Scorer comes to write your name, He writes not that you won or lost, but how you played the game

.In the College Football world of COVID in 2021, that would be changed to whether you were EVEN ABLE to play the game that becomes the big issue.

Welcome to the latest edition of crisis management in the world of college football which has forced the leaders of the CFP to add the following protocols and possibilities about the semifinal games being played in the Cotton and Orange Bowl on New Year's Eve.

*If either No. 4 Cincinnati or No. 1 Alabama or No. 2 Michigan or No. 3 Georgia had enough positive COVID test cases on their roster, they would have to deal the possibility of their opponent advancing to the CFP championship game in Indianapolis by forfeit.

There is also the possibility that the game, scheduled to be played on January 10th, could be pushed back to as far as January 14th.

There is the possibility that one of the two competing teams could test positive enough to forfeit the game or that BOTH could test positive and there would be NO national champion.

All of this after a chaotic few weeks of coaching changes and transfer portal announcements.

The tough part is that there is no simple solution.

In a perfect world COVID would be part of daily life, but mainly in the rear view mirror with vaccinations and booster shot allowing people to deal with their business.

But as we have seen in college football, almost on an hourly update basis, this is not a perfect word.

The world of social media is now serving as a petri dish of rumors and speculation.

Suffice it to say, everything seems possible. Pay extra attention to the Cotton and Orange Bowls next week because the winner could win the national championship on New Year's Eve.

Watch over the weekend for white smoke (or black) coming from the winning teams as they clear the COVID hurdle.

You might see Alabama Coach Nick Saban smiling after a win and holding a Cotton Bowl trophy in triumph, which could be a national championship trophy as well.

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Speaking of COVID, Texas A&M pulled out of the Gator Bowl and should ben replaced by Rutgers, which is interesting since Rutgers finished with a 5-7 record and was not bowl eligible.

Well not exactly. With 43 bowls (86 slots) to fill, the minimum of a .500 record to qualify has some clauses in an emergency

.The Gator Bowl qualified and so apparently did Rutgers because the Scarlet Knights might have a 5-7 record, but they have the highest Academic Progress Record of the non bowl qualifying schools, which is the measuring stick for bowl eligibility in this instance.

This is a tough one for a Jersey Guy, who would like to see Greg Schiano's team get to its best bowl ever.

But the problem is that no 5-7 team should be playing in a bowl game, nor should a 6-6 team.

Bowl games should be rewards for BETTER THAN MEDIOCRE seasons, which doesn't fit a 6-6 record.

The problem is that the mentality now is to award participation, not accomplishment.

Coaches want bowl games because they get extra practices.

ESPN wants it because they get much needed programming.

Die-hard CFB fans want it because for two plus weeks during the holidays it gives them almost a daily CFB fix.

But 43 is too many bowl games, despite the fact that many of them have been fun to watch--at least partially.

But there needs to be a line drawn.

Spare me the "experience''' factor of playing in a bowl game. Make it harder to achieve, not easier.

If a team finishes with a 6-6 record and doesn't get to play in a bowl game, here are some words of advice.

Work harder next year and get that extra victory, make that your goal.

It's not going to change, of course, but it should.

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