The Holiday Bowl and North Carolina State are not throwing in the towel yet as they hunt for a team to replace UCLA.
Just hours before kickoff for Tuesday's bowl, the Bruins announced they would not be able to participate due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the program. According to The Athletic's Bruce Feldman, the team's defensive line corps “has been decimated by Covid issues,” leading to the decision to withdraw. “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-19] issues today,” he added.