PASADENA, Calif. – As the solar lastly began to burst by the clouds that had been hanging over the Rose Bowl and the San Gabriel Mountains started to rise above the north finish of the stadium because the skies cleared late within the recreation, faculty soccer followers had been as soon as once more reminded of the game’s biggest custom and its grandest cathedral.
There is solely nothing just like the Rose Bowl being performed on New Year’s Day. In a sport that has sadly discarded century‑outdated traditions and rivalries like passing fads, it’s the one which hasn’t modified—and may by no means be altered.
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It is, nevertheless, a practice that must be placed on a better pedestal and given an even bigger stage. There isn’t any purpose the Rose Bowl ought to ever be a quarterfinal recreation within the College Football Playoff, however right here “The Granddaddy of Them All” sits for the second yr in a row, serving as a second‑spherical web site. It’s a placement the Rose Bowl is locked into since it can all the time be performed on New Year’s Day after the Rose Parade in Pasadena.
That’s considered one of many explanation why the College Football Playoff schedule must be tweaked and why the Rose Bowl ought to all the time be not less than a semifinal recreation.
The largest difficulty with the present playoff schedule is the hole between the top of the common season and the beginning of the postseason. There’s no purpose for Indiana to be off for almost a month between video games. The Hoosiers had 26 days off from their 13‑10 win over Ohio State within the Big Ten Championship Game on December 6, 2025 to their 38‑3 blowout win over Alabama within the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2026.
The layoff didn’t have an effect on Indiana the best way it did different groups with equally lengthy breaks. Teams with a bye within the College Football Playoff had been 0‑7 previous to Indiana’s assertion win over Alabama.
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The College Football Playoff must increase to 16 groups with no byes and begin the week after convention championship video games. Under this format this season, the common season would have wrapped the weekend of November 29, convention championship video games would have taken place the weekend of December 6, and the primary spherical of the playoffs would have been performed on campuses the weekend of December 13. The quarterfinals would have taken place at 4 bowl websites the weekend of December 20.
Some need these video games performed on campuses as an alternative of bowls. I’m effective with that, however bowl organizers will hate the concept as a lot as they might hate transferring their video games earlier. The reality is everybody has to sacrifice one thing to maintain bowls alive alongside a playoff.
There would then be a Christmas break earlier than semifinals happen on New Year’s Day. There’s no want for playoff video games on New Year’s Eve night time, the place they get misplaced whereas individuals are celebrating with family and friends.
The catch? The Rose Bowl would all the time function a New Year’s Day semifinal. The different semifinal would rotate between the Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Cotton Bowl, and Peach Bowl.
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The different bowls might not like that, however the reality is the Rose Bowl is completely different. It deserves the game’s brightest highlight. The trophy presentation, roses, championship hats, and shirts ought to imply extra than a ceremonial picture op.
Many faculty soccer reporters and analysts get misplaced within the magic of the Rose Bowl and argue it ought to host the nationwide championship recreation evert yr. That’s not occurring. Since 2015, the championship recreation lives completely in NFL stadiums which have lately hosted a Super Bowl.
As a lot as I really like the nostalgia, I additionally perceive it is a enterprise. And the enterprise desires fashionable stadiums, premium seats, and luxurious suites. The final time the nationwide championship was held in Los Angeles County, it was performed at SoFi Stadium in 2023—not the Rose Bowl. Why? The identical purpose UCLA desires to maneuver there. SoFi Stadium has 260 luxurious suites and 13,000 premium seats. The Rose Bowl has 54 suites and 1,200 premium seats.
A New Year’s Day semifinal on the Rose Bowl, paired with a rotating second semifinal and a championship recreation staged two weeks later—earlier than the NFL Divisional Round—creates a Super Bowl‑type buildup with out burying bowls.
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That’s the compromise. That’s the tradeoff. That’s the best way to protect custom with out pretending this sport isn’t a enterprise.
College soccer is altering quick. But the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day shouldn’t be one of many issues it sacrifices. Thursday reminded us of that. If something, it reminded us the Rose Bowl deserves an even bigger stage, a brighter highlight, and a everlasting place within the sport’s last act with out being pressured to play the position of a quarterfinal footnote.
There are many issues altering in faculty soccer, however the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day shouldn’t be considered one of them.