The college football bowl season has had its fair share of disappointments. Following a season in which fans returned to the stands in full force, bowl season was expected to be the culmination of an incredible year of football.
It hasn’t played out that way, as COVID-19 has made its rounds, leading to the cancellation of five bowl games so far through the 2021 college bowl season.
On Tuesday, the Holiday Bowl matchup between UCLA and NC State was cancelled hours before kickoff due to COVID-19 issues within the Bruins locker room. The short notice did not sit well with NC State head coach Dave Doeren, who said he “felt lied to.”
“Felt lied to, to be honest,” Doeren told reporters at the team hotel. “We felt like UCLA probably knew something was going on, didn’t tell anybody on our side. We had no clue they were up against that. I don’t feel like it was very well handled from their university. It would have been great to have had a heads-up so two or three days ago we could have found a Plan B. Disappointing.”
NC State attempted to find a replacement team once they received the news of UCLA’s cancellation, but were unable to find an opponent.
“After exhausting every possibility and contacting numerous schools personally and through the Holiday Bowl, we have no other option than to end our season,” NC State athletic director Boo Corrigan said in a statement. “As disappointing as this stunning turn of events was, we must not let it diminish the accomplishments of our 2021 football team or forget the moments of joy that they brought us.”
Statement from @BooCorrigan & presentation of @HolidayBowl trophy pic.twitter.com/vUUMUcbquP
— NC State Football (@PackFootball) December 29, 2021
The NCAA has ruled the game a no-contest, meaning NC State will finish the season 9-3, instead of earning the programs second 10-win season in school history.
Doeren had a few more choice words upon hearing the news, this time with his ire directed at the NCAA.
“Well, the NCAA stands for ‘No Clue At All’ in my opinion, so I don’t really care what they say about it,” Doeren said Wednesday night. “But our guys, like I said, we took a roster of guys down there with zero COVID issues, practiced every day and did everything right and didn’t get a chance to play the game. As far as I’m concerned, we did beat them.”
“They couldn’t even get to the field, you know? So you can say whatever you want, but if look at the College Football Playoff definition of what’s going to happen if that happens in one of their games, that team is forfeiting,” Doeren continued. “So I feel like we’re following the same guidelines that those bowl games are going to follow.”
“NCAA stands for No Clue At All” Dave Doeren is out for blood!!! pic.twitter.com/wY8y9DI9u5
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) December 30, 2021
The college football semifinals are scheduled for Friday, December 31. No. 1 Alabama will play No. 4 Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl Classic at 3:30 p.m. ET, and No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 Georgia will match up in the Orange Bowl at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].