COLLEGE FOOTBALL BOWLS FACE VIRUS ISSUES and CANCELED

While Rutgers had to make quick plans to replace virus-stricken Texas A & M in Friday’s New Years Eve Gator Bowl to be played in Jacksonville, several other bowl games have been cancelled.

The Scarlet Knights (5-7) will be taking on 20th-ranked Wake Forest (10-3) and will be considered perhaps a 2-touchdown underdog, but at two games under .500, the NCAA committee agreed to let them play instead of other schools also under .500.

Elsewhere, today’s scheduled Military Bowl in Annapolis at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium was cancelled after Boston College had already arrived there on Friday to play East Carolina, only to find it had enough positive COVID-19 issues to cancel out.

The same with the Wednesday Fenway Bowl at the centuries-old Boston Red Sox baseball ballpark. It was slated to match Virginia (6-6) with SMU (7-5), but the Cavaliers cancelled due to pandemic issues.

The Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu slated for Friday had already been cancelled prior to the weekend by host Hawaii’s coronavirus issues, and it spoiled a flight there by Memphis.

But the Friday tilt that paired University of Miami (Fla.) with Washington State in the Sun Bowl to be played in El Paso, Tx., has also been cancelled after the Hurricanes reported pandemic issues.

Hopefully, the games that remain will be played, and these are this week’s scheduled ones prior to those that begin the New Year.