Cal will not play in the Gator Bowl, Rutgers accepts invite to play Wake Forest

It was a fun rumor.

Sources close to the program earlier today indicated that Cal will not be participating in the Gator Bowl, as previously rumored they could have been.

Avinash Kunnath @avinashkunnath

Cal will not be playing in the Gator Bowl, sources close to the program confirm. 5-7 teams with high APR were being contacted to play Wake Forest after Texas A&M withdrew due to COVID, leading to rumors Cal might be considered. But it's not in the cards. Cal's season is over.

Instead, it’ll be 5-7 Rutgers, who were previously reported to have declined a potential bid to Jacksonville.

Nicole Auerbach @NicoleAuerbach

Rutgers is set to receive — and accept — a bid to the Gator Bowl to face Wake Forest, a source confirmed to @TheAthletic. Rutgers has highest APR score among 5-7 teams & just needs the NCAA football oversight committee to rubber stamp this on Thursday. RU will replace Texas A&M.

Rutgers did have the highest APR on the list, and were first in line upon potential candidates for a Gator Bowl replacement after Texas A&M withdrew, but Cal was not too far behind on the list, so they would have been considered if interested.

However, it would have been a very difficult process to get Cal to Jacksonville on one week’s notice. Nearly the entire team is on break and back at their relative homes. There would also have been many mechanics required to get a number of starting players out of the transfer portal.

There might be other cancellations ahead due to the prevalence of the omicron variant, and if they’re closer to home, you might see more interest. But I’m pretty sure Cal is done playing football this year.

RIP dead-eye Mascot Bowl.

RedditCFB @RedditCFB

Low key want the rumors that 5-7 Cal is heading to the Gator Bowl to be true... just to get an incredible matchup of mascots with soulless eyes that will haunt your dreams. Winner gets Purdue.