Rutgers To Replace Texas A&M In Gator Bowl Vs. Wake Forest
Dec 23, 2021, 2:37 PM
(Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
AP – Rutgers will replace Texas A&M in the Gator Bowl against Wake Forest after an NCAA committee decided to adhere to an existing policy for making teams with 5-7 records bowl eligible.
Texas A&M pulled out of the game in Jacksonville, Florida, scheduled for New Year’s Eve because of a lack of available players.
Reee-mixxxx…. 🏈@RFootball will be our replacement team and face @WakeFB in this year's 77th Annual TaxSlayer Gator Bowl game! pic.twitter.com/uZKHxghA3G
— TaxSlayer Gator Bowl (@taxslayerbowl) December 23, 2021
The Aggies were having issues with COVID-19, plus injuries, opt-outs and player transfers.
NCAA rules allow teams with 5-7 records to be bowl eligible if there are not enough six-win teams to fill all the spots.
.@BowlSeason 2.0 for @USUFootball? 👀
📰: https://t.co/3fRGeF0usx#AggiesAllTheWay @ScottyGZone
📷: Getty Images pic.twitter.com/zrp4pJ6Yn0— KSL Sports (@kslsports) December 23, 2021
The 5-7 teams with the highest Academic Progress Rate scores have first crack at open slots, and Rutgers was atop that list.
The Scarlet Knights now have less than a week to get ready to play one of the highest-scoring teams in the country.