Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) celebrates with a rose following the 41-21 win over the Oregon Ducks in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2025. Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Should UCLA Be Entitled to the Rose Bowl Game?

Originally posted on UCLA Bruins on SI | By Brock Vierra | Last updated May 5, 2025 12:01 PM ET

Despite it being the first year of the expanded College Football Playoff, the 2025 Rose Bowl Game had a traditional feel, despite the game featuring two Big Ten teams, as Oregon gave the event a West Coast element reminiscent of the Pac-12.

The College Football Playoff should assign semifinal bowl games based on the location of conference champions.

For example, if a bowl game takes place during the quarterfinals, four schools will have a BYE due to being conference champions. The bowls they play reflect their conference affiliation. Since Oregon was a member of the Big Ten, it got a bid for the Rose Bowl.

The SEC got the Sugar Bowl, the ACC (if it had a conference champion with a top-four seed) would play in the Orange Bowl, the Group of Five automatic bid gets the Fiesta Bowl, and the Big 12 gets the Cotton Bowl.

However, in the semifinals, it's at-large bids. Thus, Notre Dame (which is based in Indiana) and Penn State (based in Pennsylvania) played in the Orange Bowl located in Miami.

Ohio State and Texas played in the Cotton Bowl. However, had Oregon defeated Ohio State, despite being the one seed, they would've had to play Texas in the Cotton Bowl, located in Arlington, Texas.

What I propose is that the top remaining seed in the semi-finals gets to choose which bowl in the semi-finals they get to play in.

For example, in the 2026 playoff, the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl are the two semi-finals. Let's say, for argument's sake, the top four teams are Ohio State, Texas, Notre Dame and LSU.

Should Ohio State, if they are the top seed, be forced to hypothetically play LSU in the Sugar Bowl, a bowl game in New Orleans, an hour drive away from Baton Rouge?

I don't think they should have to essentially play in a road game just because a bracket said so. If Ohio State, in that scenario, wants to play in the Rose Bowl, making LSU travel, it should.

If Florida is the top seed and the two semi-finals are the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl, why should it travel to Dallas instead of Miami?

If UCLA is the top seed, the Rose Bowl should belong to it. It's as simple as that.

If reforms are coming to the College Football Playoff, bowl games should be at the top of the list.