JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The nation's sixth-oldest bowl game is now in jeopardy after Texas A&M announced on Wednesday that it cannot play in the 77th TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on Dec. 31 against Wake Forest because of a COVID-19 outbreak on its team.
Due to a combination of COVID-19 issues within the program, as well as season-ending injuries, the Texas A&M football roster is not in a position to safely participate in the upcoming Dec. 31 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl against Wake Forest.
Gator Bowl president Greg McGarity said the game isn't being written off yet but the clock is ticking. An alternative replacement team is being considered, in consultation with ESPN, the game's broadcast partner, the NCAA and conference presidents — but it needs to be selected by Friday.
McGarity said the team doesn't have to be from the SEC — the game matches an SEC team vs. an ACC team — and also doesn't have to have a winning record.
The NCAA has allowed teams with a record below .500 to play in bowl games in the past, with a priority on the team's Academic Progress Rate. The teams that finished 5-7 this season among Power 5 conferences are Florida State, Syracuse, Texas, TCU, Rutgers, Illinois and California.
"Everything is on the table," McGarity said about the possibility of bringing another ACC team in to play Wake. The Deacons are in the same division as the Seminoles and Orangemen, so it would be a rematch of a regular-season game.
Practice time an issue
McGarity said one issue was practice time: teams with losing records last played on Thanksgiving weekend, and are prohibited from practicing again until spring workouts.
One possibility could be 4-8 Navy, which beat Army on Dec. 11.
McGarity said that would be up to the NCAA, which was flexible in allowing teams with losing records to play in bowls last year, due to the pandemic.
Kentucky, for example, was invited to play in the Gator Bowl with a 4-6 record and beat 8-3 N.C. State 23-21.
Vanderbilt was the only SEC team that did not qualify for a bowl this season. The Commodores had a 2-10 record.
Friday deadline set
McGarity said a deadline of noon Friday has been established to find a team to play Wake Forest, which has not had any COVID-19 issues among its team.
"We're trying to shake the trees to see if there are any replacements," he said. "We will know by noon Friday that we will either play or cancel the game. We're going to run every rabbit down each hole and do everything in our power to find someone."
McGarity said if there is no game, the Gator Bowl will have no ticket or TV revenue and therefore will not have to make the $5.35 million payout to the two teams. There is an issue of operating expenses until next year's game but the Jacksonville city council voted to give $500,000 to the Gator Bowl Association last week to help if there are any financial shortfalls.
Texas A&M had suspended practice last weekend once the outbreak began affecting players. There is no minimum requirement this season in the SEC to field a team but the NCAA requires at least 85 players on the active roster.
"Once you hear that team is having issues, certainly it causes you to be concerned," McGarity said.
There have already been 12 bowls played without any issues and only one other bowl participant, Miami in the Sun Bowl, has reported COVID-19 issues.
Last year, 17 bowls were canceled of the 43 on the schedule.
Wake played in first Gator Bowl
The Gator has been played without interruption since 1946, when Wake Forest beat South Carolina 26-14. The Deacons had not played in the game since then.
The only bowl games older than the Gator are the Rose (1916), Orange (1935), Sugar (1935), Sun (1935) and Cotton (1937).
When bowls on the Gator's tier last season such as the Music City and Holiday were canceled, the Gator was able to be played, with Kentucky vs. N.C. State on Jan. 2. In some cases the bowls made the decision to cancel and in others, one of the teams opted out.
CFP announces revised policy
In the meantime, the College Football Playoff announced its COVID-19 contingencies on Wednesday for the four-team playoff, the national championship game and two other New Year's Day Six games.
If one team is unable to play in one of the semifinal games (at the Cotton and Orange Bowls), the game will be forfeited and the other team will advance to the national championship game. Alabama is playing Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl and Georgia faces Michigan in the Orange Bowl, both on Dec. 31.
However, Alabama received a jolt on Wednesday when it announced offensive line coach and former Jaguars coach Doug Marrone and offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien tested positive for the virus. In a statement, the school said it expects both to be able to coach in the game next week.
Michigan announced that its entire team will receive COVID-19 booster shots this week
If both teams in one of those games can't play, it would be declared no contest and the winner of the other semifinal will be the national champion.
If three of the four teams can't play, the semifinal game with two teams unable to play will be declared no contest and the remaining team in the other game will be declared the CFP national champion.
If teams cannot participate in the Fiesta (Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma State) or the Peach (Michigan State vs. Pittsburgh), attempts will be made for alternate dates within a week of the original day. If no date can be found, the game will be no contest.
The Rose Bowl (Ohio State vs. Utah) and the Sugar Bowl (Ole Miss vs. Baylor) don't fall under the CFP guidelines this season.
The national championship game will be played no later than Jan. 14, if the semifinals are conducted, and one or both of the teams are unable to play on the scheduled date of Jan. 10.
Team activities at the bowl sites will be optional and the official parties can arrive up to two days before the game, rather than five days. All media opportunities will be conducted on a virtual basis.
