CFP won't flip dates of semifinals despite SEC inquiry

The College Football Playoff will not flip the dates and times of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic and the Capital One Orange Bowl after SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said Thursday that he asked about the possibility of changing them.

With its 23-10 Allstate Sugar Bowl win against Georgiaon Thursday, Notre Damewill face Penn Statenext Thursday in the Orange Bowl at 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN). On New Year's Eve, Penn State advanced when it beat Boise State31-14 in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl.

The quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl was delayed after a pickup truck attack in New Orleans that left 15 people dead and dozens more injured.

Sankey's concern was a potential disadvantage for Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish will have to play on a shorter turnaround than the Nittany Lions, who will have nine days between games.

"We're not going to flip the games," CFP executive director Rich Clark told ESPN on Friday morning. "The concession we made with the athletic directors was to start the Sugar Bowl earlier -- an 18-hour or so delay. We slipped the game 18 hours to ensure we could provide safety and security for teams, coaches, staffs, fans and others involved. NOLA and Sugar Bowl officials were amazing."

Texasneeded double overtime to escape a gritty Arizona Stateteam on New Year's Day 39-31, and the Longhorns will face Ohio State, which trounced Oregon41-21 in the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential, in the Cotton Bowl Classic on Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN).

Sankey said Thursday on "The Paul Finebaum Show" that he had raised the issue of potentially changing the game day and had asked decision-makers involved whether it would be possible.

"I recognize that's difficult," Sankey told Finebaum. "I don't know if it is impossible. I raised that [Wednesday], and the focus quickly became today's kickoff, today's game, and we'll see what happens.

"This is not an SEC-related issue; it's for both teams," Sankey added. "I also know that the communities have dates, they have plans, there are stadium availability issues that can arise. What I've not heard back from anybody after having asked the question is really directly a yes or no answer to the question I asked."

Clark told ESPN on Friday morning that the logistics of changing the games would be difficult.

"Logistics are very complicated, disruptive to the other teams involved that have schedules in place, especially Texas and Ohio State," he said. "Fans have made arrangements already, and this creates issues for them. There's more, but these are some of the major points."

Sankey told Finebaum that he realizes this conversation resulted from an "unforeseen, unexpected, incredible horrible tragedy that has altered the schedule."

"Sometimes, just like within a game, you have to adapt, you have to adjust," Sankey said. "Right now with the schedule set, these teams will have to adjust their preparation based on the schedule that lies ahead."br/]