New Year’s Eve and the College Football Playoff were not a great mix last year.
ESPN is hoping that changes Saturday.
After ratings for the CFP semifinals plummeted last year – doomed in part by two blowouts – the playoff adjusted future schedules to avoid conflict with the biggest social-gathering night of the year. That change came far too late to affect this year’s semis, so the Alabama-Washington and Ohio State-Clemson games will occur Saturday while countless fans prepare to ring in 2017.
“I think we’re definitely hopeful,” said ESPN vice president of programming Nick Dawson, who oversees college football for the network. “It’s a good mix across the country for us. Hopefully, competitive games – that’s the one part obviously we can’t control – but the other factors that tilt in our favor over last year are a Saturday date for Dec. 31 and also the slight adjustment we made with the start times.”
Moving those games up an hour than what the schedule was last year might prove big. Alabama-Washington at the Peach Bowl begins at 3 p.m. EST, Ohio State-Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl begins at 7 p.m. Both games are on ESPN.