It was probably bound to happen at some point, but a spot in a bowl game has officially opened up after Texas A&M announced it will not play in the Gator Bowl due to a surplus of players either being injured or testing positive for COVID-19. The Aggies, who were scheduled to face Wake Forest in Jacksonville on Friday, Dec. 31, were reportedly down to just 38 healthy players a little more than a week ahead of the Gator Bowl.
Wake Forest is determined to still play in the game if the Gator Bowl can find an opponent capable of filling in the vacancy so close to the bowl game. But with every bowl-eligible team are lined up for a bowl matchup this bowl season, the Gator Bowl may need to find a 5-7 team to fill in the slot.
Enter the Big Ten.
Rutgers reportedly had an invitation extended by the Gator Bowl, but the Scarlet Knights turned it down, according to Brett McMurphy of The Action Network and later confirmed by Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports.
Sources: Rutgers has interest and is exploring the possibility of playing in the Gator Bowl. They have the highest-ranking APR of the available 5-7 teams (979), which *should* give them chance to play. (Illinois has an APR of 970). Rutgers also beat Illinois head-to-head.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 22, 2021
Illinois head coach Bret Bielema was quick to make it publicly known he would be ready to answer the call from the Gator Bowl if Illinois was approached as an option.
Waiting by the phone…. #ILL #famILLy https://t.co/0xb9eoKU3U
— Bret Bielema (@BretBielema) December 22, 2021
It has been a few years since Bielema last coached in a bowl game, so you can understand his enthusiasm for getting a chance to taste the bowl season once again. Bielema last coached in a bowl game with Arkansas in the 2016 Belk Bowl, and his last bowl victory came in 2015 with the Razorbacks in the Liberty Bowl.
Bielema was just 2-4 in bowl games during his time at Wisconsin, including back-to-back losses in the Rose Bowl.
[listicle id=11417]
[lawrence-related id=11645,11606,11585,11583,11571]
Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.