The talk of the town in college football on Wednesday has been about which team will replace Texas A&M in the Gator Bowl after the Aggies dropped out due to COVID-19 complications.
It looks like Wake Forest has found a new opponent.
According to James Kratch and Keith Sargeant of NJ.com, Rutgers is positioned to receive and accept a last-minute bid to the Gator Bowl. The Scarlett Knights will now head to Jacksonville to take on the Demon Deacons on New Year’s Eve.
Rutgers emerged as a late contender to fill the open spot after a number of teams expressed interest in slotting in for Texas A&M on Wednesday. Because the Scarlett Knights had the highest “Academic Progress Rating” score among the 5-7 teams that are available, they had the strongest claim to play No. 17 Wake Forest.
That being said, a report from Brett McMurphy earlier on Wednesday suggested that Rutgers turned down the original invitation when offered. The evening’s report from NJ.com is a direct contradiction to what was put out there just a few hours prior.
Now, it sounds like the Scarlett Knights will need to be ready to play in just over a week. The NCAA’s football oversight committee will need to officially sign off on the decision on Thursday, but NJ.com reports that a morning meeting is expected to be just a formality.
Unsurprisingly, after the rollercoaster of events this afternoon, the college football world was stunned to see Rutgers end up with the Gator Bowl bid.
Going from playing Texas A&M to playing Rutgers is… substantially less exciting https://t.co/NLuJIPaQcK
— Kristian🎩 (@Kooz_WRLD) December 23, 2021
Lol. This is wild. I don’t think they should go, but I’ll absolutely watch. https://t.co/xmZtUEhkth
— Matt Lanza (@mattlanza) December 23, 2021
The most Rutgers thing ever. Sloppy seconds but watch Schiano win this game. He tends to win bowl games. https://t.co/z9u5KXlSUo
— Matthew Policastro (@mpolicastro) December 23, 2021
Rutgers/Wake Forest is what the world needs right now https://t.co/VhW8ktqNpa
— Lucy Rohden (@lucy_rohden) December 23, 2021
Awesome for them! https://t.co/jzEYXXyITt
— Isaiah Hole (@isaiahhole) December 23, 2021
Rutgers will now go into the New Year’s Eve matchup as the only 5-7 team to make a bowl game this season. The Scarlett Knights will be heavy underdogs to ACC runner-up Wake Forest.
The Taxslayer Gator Bowl is scheduled to kickoff at 11 a.m. ET on Dec. 31.
The post College Football World Reacts To Wild Gator Bowl News appeared first on The Spun.