If a team is unavailable to play in the College Football Playoff semifinals on New Year’s Eve because of COVID-19 issues, the game will be forfeited and the available team will advance to the championship.

With COVID-19 cases spiking across the country because of the omicron variant, the CFP announced Wednesday contingency plans for the semifinals and national championship game, which is scheduled for Jan. 10 in Indianapolis but could be delayed as much as four days.

No. 1 Alabama is scheduled to face No. 4 Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl in one Dec. 31 semifinal, and No. 2 Michigan is set to play No. 3 Georgia in the Orange Bowl.

Not long before the CFP announced its contingency plans, Alabama announced that offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien and offensive line coach Doug Marrone had tested positive for COVID-19 and were isolating with mild symptoms.

Also, No. 23 Texas A&M became the first team to drop out of a bowl game, citing COVID-19 issues and season-ending injuries as the reasons it would not have enough available players for the Gator Bowl against No. 20 Wake Forest on Dec. 31.

As college basketball faced a wave of cancellations and postponements because of the omicron surge over the last week, it seemed only a matter of time before it impacted bowl season.

“As we prepare for the Playoff, it’s wise and necessary to put into place additional precautions to protect those who will play and coach the games,” College Football Playoff Executive Director Bill Hancock said in a statement. “These policies will better protect our students and staffs while providing clarity in the event worst-case scenarios result.”

The contingency plans were agreed to by the CFP management committee, comprised of the 10 FBS conference commissioners and Notre Dame’s athletic director.

The CFP said each school will be responsible for determining whether it has a sufficient number of available players.

While there will be no rescheduling of either semifinal, the championship game could be delayed until as late as Jan. 14.

If a team cannot play in the title game, the available team will be declared national champion. If neither team has enough available players by Jan. 14, the championship will be considered vacated.

For the semifinals, if both teams scheduled to play each other are unavailable, that game shall be declared a no contest and the winner of the other semifinal will be declared national champion.

ARMED FORCES BOWL: Cole Talley kicked a 41-yard field goal as time ran out and Army rallied to beat Missouri 24-22 in Fort Worth, Texas.

After the Tigers took a 22-21 lead on a touchdown with 1:11 to play, third-string quarterback Jabari Laws led Army (9-4) downfield to the Missouri 24, setting up Talley’s winner.

Army backup quarterback Tyhier Tyler came on after starter Christian Anderson was injured early in the fourth quarter and threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Walters to give the Black Knights their first lead, 21-16. Anderson and JaKobi Buchanan scored on TD runs of 22 and 10 yards, respectively, for Army.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Brady Cook threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Keke Chism with 71 seconds left to put the Tigers (6-7) ahead, but their two-point conversion attempt failed.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

(2) DUKE 76, VIRGINIA TECH 65: Paolo Banchero had 23 points and the Blue Devils (11-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) shot 62% after halftime to beat the Hokies (8-5, 0-2) in Durham, North Carolina.

(19) TENNESSEE 77, (6) ARIZONA 73: John Fulkerson had 24 points and 10 rebounds, and the Volunteers (9-2) held off the Wildcats (11-1) in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Santiago Vescovi had 15 points, Josiah-Jordan James added 12 and Justin Powell scored 11 for the Volunteers.

Bennedict Mathurin scored 14 of his 28 points in the first half. He was the only Arizona starter to score in the first 20 minutes as Tennessee took a 34-21 lead. Kerr Kriisa scored 11 points for Arizona.

(12) AUBURN 71, MURRAY STATE 58: Wendell Green Jr. and Jabari Smith each had double-doubles and the Tigers (11-1) beat the Racers (10-2) in Auburn, Alabama, for their eighth straight win.

Auburn held Murray State to 28 points below its season average and outrebounded the Racers 48-33.

(13) HOUSTON 80, TEXAS STATE 47: Josh Carlton scored a season-high 20 points, Kyler Edwards added 14 and the Cougars (11-2) routed the Bobcats (9-3) in Houston.

(16) TEXAS 68, ALABAMA STATE 48: Dylan Disu scored 14 points and made three blocks, and the Longhorns (9-2) and pulled away in the second half to defeat the Hornets (2-10) in Austin, Texas.

Gerald Liddell, a former Texas player who transferred to Alabama State this season, led the Hornets with 16 points.

(17) LSU 85, LIPSCOMB 60: Darius Days scored 21 points and the Tigers (12-0) never trailed in a win over the Bisons (6-8) at Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

(20) KENTUCKY 95, WESTERN KENTUCKY 60: Kellan Grady made six 3-pointers and scored a season-high 23 points, Oscar Tshiebwe grabbed a Rupp Arena-record 28 rebounds and the Wildcats (9-2) used an 18-2 second-half run to blow out the Hilltoppers (8-5) at Lexington, Kentucky.

TyTy Washington Jr. added 20 points and Jacob Toppin scored 12 as the Wildcats routed their second consecutive substitute opponent. The in-state Hilltoppers were added Monday after the postponement of Kentucky’s scheduled matchup against archrival Louisville because of positive COVID-19 tests within the Louisville program.

(25) TEXAS TECH 78, EASTERN WASHINGTON 46: Kevin Obanor had 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists without a turnover, helping the Red Raiders (9-2) beat the Eagles (6-6) in Lubbock, Texas.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

(12) TEXAS 70, PRINCETON 53: Joanne Allen-Taylor scored 18 points and Rori Harmon added 15 to help the Longhorns (9-1) beat the Tigers (7-4) at Princeton, New Jersey.

(20) NOTRE DAME 91, DEPAUL 86: Maya Dodson scored 28 points with eight rebounds, Maddy Westbeld scored 22 points and the Fighting Irish (11-2) held off the Blue Demons (11-3) in Chicago.

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