North Carolina State football coach Dave Doeren was watching the last few minutes of the 2021 Birmingham Bowl when he found out the Wolfpack would not be playing against UCLA in the Holiday Bowl on Tuesday evening.
UCLA announced that it would not be able to participate due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the program. Bruce Feldman of The Athletic was the first to report that the game was taken off the schedule.
Following the announcement, Doeren could not believe the news about the game and told reporters that situation was “disappointing.