College football schedule, odds: Gator Bowl could be canceled after No. 23 Texas A&M pulls out because of COVID
Unless another bowl game is affected, there is no replacement team available to face 20th-ranked Wake Forest, costing the teams $5.3 million payout
The COVID surge across the sports world shows no signs of abating, and it could claim its first college football bowl game, as Texas A&M was forced to pull out of the Gator Bowl scheduled for Dec. 31.
Wake Forest was expected to face the Aggies in the game in Jacksonville, but its will need a team to drop out of another bowl game in order to have an opponent.
Texas A&M said it does not have enough players to participate after a COVID outbreak among players and staff. TexAgs.com reported that the team would have had only 38 of the allowed 85 scholarship players available for the game, with only 13 available on defense. Injuries, transfers and opt-outs also played a role in depleting the roster.
The bowl payout is $5.3 million, which will not be paid if the game isn't played, costing the teams critical revenue.
"It is heartbreaking for our players, coaches, staff and fans that we are not able to play in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl," Aggies AD Ross Bjork said in a statement. "Postseason football is the pinnacle of the season and when the opportunity is lost, it hurts on many levels."
Texas A&M went 8-4 after losing to LSU in the regular-season finale. It is the third season in coach Jimbo Fisher's four years that the Aggies lost at least four games.
The Demon Deacons had their best season since 2006, going 10-3 and losing to Pitt in the ACC Championship Game.
There were 16 bowl games canceled after the 2020 season, but this could be the first of this year. It might not be the last, as the Omicron variant continues to disrupt the sports landscape.
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