NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JANUARY 01: Justin Fields #1 of the Ohio State Buckeyes reacts after a touchdown against the Clemson Tigers in the third quarter during the College Football Playoff semifinal game at the Allstate Sugar Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 01, 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)After what was hopefully the final COVID-19 cancelation scare of the season, the College Football Playoff national championship game between No. 3 Ohio State and No. 1 Alabama is on.
John Canzano of the Oregonian reports that the game is finally good to go.
College Football Playoff national title game is a GO.
Ohio State vs. Alabama will be played on Monday, per playoff executive director Bill Hancock.
— John Canzano (@johncanzanobft) January 8, 2021
Just a little under a week before the national championship game, Ohio State announced a breakout of COVID-19 cases in the program.
After the news broke, the Buckeyes reportedly pushed the playoff committee to postpone the the game one week. Some Alabama fans, including Nick Saban’s daughter, felt the push was meant to help star quarterback Justin Fields recover from injuries sustained in the Sugar Bowl win over Clemson.
Initial reports from the university said the contact tracing efforts could potentially wipe out an entire position unit, but it appears now that won’t be the case.
Despite its outstanding undefeated season so far, Ohio State has been arguably the school hit hardest by the pandemic. After a late start to the Big Ten season, the Buckeyes had multiple games canceled due to internal and external outbreaks. In the games that it did play, OSU was often shorthanded and down some key players.
But, it looks like everything should be good to go after this weekend.
Alabama and Ohio State will collide in Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium on Monday night at 8:15 p.m. E.T.
