College football bowl games are being canceled due to the rapid rise of COVID-19 cases across the globe. As cases surge, a number of bowl games have been canceled or altered as teams cite positive tests on their rosters. Though some teams have found replacements, other games have been canceled altogether during the 2021-22 college bowl game season.
Here’s an updated list of all the games altered or canceled. We’ll monitor each situation and continue to update as they happen.
Canceled college football bowl games due to COVID-19
Despite moving policies around to get Hawai’i into a bowl game this season, the island’s team was still left without a game due to COVID-19. Here are the games that have been canceled:
- SoFi Hawai’i Bowl: Memphis vs. Hawai’i
- Military Bowl presented by Peraton: Boston College vs. East Carolina
- Fenway Bowl: Virginia vs. SMU
- San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl: UCLA vs. NC State
[UPDATE] – FOX Sports’ Bruce Feldman reported on Tuesday afternoon that the Tuesday evening game between UCLA and NC State would be canceled. Less than five hours ahead of kickoff, the Holiday Bowl was scrapped due to COVID-19 issues in UCLA’s defensive line room.
Three bowl games to start, with many more on the way it appears. The list of games currently without at least one team is growing:
- Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl: Miami (FL) vs. Washington State
- Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl: Boise State vs. Central Michigan
[UPDATE] – The Arizona Bowl has been canceled, per Barstool Sports President Dave Portnoy. Central Michigan has been released of their bowl tie-in to the Arizona Bowl and will now play Washington State in the Sun Bowl.
The latest news from the desert came when Boise State officially removed itself from the Arizona Bowl. This came after Miami (FL) had not even made the flight to the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.
Washington State is left without an opponent for the Sun Bowl and now Central Michigan is left without one in the Arizona Bowl. There is a stipulation that would allow the Chippewas to play the Cougars in the Sun Bowl, but the MAC, as a conference, would have to allow CMU to be “removed” from their bowl affiliation.
Which college football teams were affected by COVID-19
With a growing number of teams seeing a surge in cases, it seems likely that some games may find replacement teams from other bowl games. That hasn’t been the case yet, but with the Sun Bowl looking more and more like it’ll be Washington State vs. Central Michigan, we look at which teams were the problem(s).
The following teams cited COVID-19 as a reason for not playing in their postseason game:
- Hawai’i (Hawai’i Bowl)
- Boston College (Fenway Bowl)
- Virginia (Fenway Bowl)
- Miami (FL) (Sun Bowl)
- Boise State (Arizona Bowl)
- Texas A&M (Gator Bowl)
Hawai’i cited COVID-19 as a reason to abandon their namesake Hawai’i Bowl. However, reports indicated chaos and drama inside the Hawai’i locker room, as some apparently expressed concern over head coach Todd Graham’s motives in getting a bowl game.
Texas A&M opted out of the Gator Bowl due to COVID-19, allowing the NCAA to find a replacement. Rutgers has officially stepped in for Texas A&M and will face Wake Forest on Friday, December 31 at 11 AM ET.
Reports are swirling around the Alamo Bowl between Oklahoma and Oregon. Both teams seem to be relatively shorthanded for a couple of reasons with Oregon reportedly seeing a spike in cases.
We’ll continue to monitor all the teams and bowl games that are canceled or altered because of COVID-19 as the postseason continues.