Holiday Bowl between UCLA and NC State canceled due to COVID issues
Tuesday night’s Holiday Bowl is off.
First reported by The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, the game between UCLA and No. 18 NC State has been canceled because of COVID-related issues in the UCLA program. The Bruins, according to Feldman, don’t have enough healthy bodies on the defensive line.
SOURCES: Tonight’s Holiday Bowl between UCLA & NC State is getting canceled. The Bruins D-Line room has been decimated by Covid issues.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) December 28, 2021
SOURCES: The Bruins were down to two interior D-linemen yesterday for this game with a converted LB as the back-up nose guard, and were set to play but then had more covid issues today.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) December 28, 2021
Shortly after, the UCLA program confirmed it will be “unable to participate” in the game.
The UCLA football team is unable to participate in tonight’s San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl due to COVID-19 protocols within the Bruins’ program. pic.twitter.com/rHXEmGv9gl
— UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) December 28, 2021
“This is our Super Bowl, so we can say it’s our Holiday Bowl and we’re excited,” UCLA head coach Chip Kelly said Monday afternoon during a coaches press conference. “This is the next opportunity for this team to play and we don’t worry about making statements, we don’t talk about what the impact of what the win does or the impact of ‘this’ does; it’s an opportunity for this group to play one last game together and they truly love each other and it’s a brotherhood and they’re excited about that opportunity.”
Several Bruins had already announced they wouldn’t be available for the game because of COVID protocols, and Kelly said Monday that anyone who developed symptoms before kickoff would be tested to make sure they did not have the virus.
“We’ve still got our fingers crossed,” Kelly said at the time.
The game was scheduled to start at 5 p.m. PT. It marks five cancellations so far this bowl season and the second straight year the Holiday Bowl has been canceled. The Bruins will close at 8-4.
“we are extremely grateful to the Holiday Bowl, students, fans, sponsors, and the people of San Diego for their support this week,” said UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond in a statement. “We are deeply disappointed for our young men in the football program that worked extremely hard for this opportunity. My heart goes out to them. The health and safety of our students will always be our North Star.”