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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
— big ideas lad 🦦 (@Kooz_WRLD) December 23, 2021
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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
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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
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Rutgers/Wake Forest is what the world needs right now https://t.co/VhW8ktqNpa
— Lucy Rohden (@lucy_rohden) December 23, 2021
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Awesome for them! https://t.co/jzEYXXyITt
— Isaiah Hole (@isaiahhole) December 23, 2021
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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.