Report: Miami Hurricanes withdraw from the Sun Bowl

According to Brett McMurphy of the Action Network, the Miami Hurricanes have withdrawn from the Sun Bowl. The program is dealing with COVID-19 issues and will now leave Washington State without an opponent for now.

McMurphy is also reporting that it’s”unknown” if a replacement will be found for the Cougars. They arrived in El Paso today but could be turning back around to Pullman before the original Dec. 31 game date.

Bowl games have been getting canceled over the past few days, with the Sun Bowl possibly being the latest. Positive tests have been popping up through multiple programs, reducing the number of scholarship players available to play in the game.

Miami will end the season with a 7-5 record and will now be under the leadership of Mario Cristobal. Their next football game will take place on Sept. 3, 2022, against Bethune-Cookman.

As Washington State and the Sun Bowl search to find a replacement for the Hurricanes, there are already a few names that have been eliminated from contention. McMurphy said Eastern Carolina, Memphis, and SMU, all three who had their bowl games canceled, will not play. Each program said their seasons are over.

According to Chris Vannini of The Athletic, the hometown UTEP Miners are not an option either. He spoke with head coach Dana Dimel once the news broke, saying his team would not be an option. UTEP has already played in a bowl game this year as well, losing to Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl.

Miami Hurricanes not only team to cancel bowl game

Due to COVID-19 related issues, the Wasabi Fenway Bowl between Virginia and SMU has been called off, per the Action Network’s Brett McMurphy. The game was scheduled to kick off at 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday at Fenway Park in Boston with ESPN carrying the national broadcast.

According to the Virginia athletic department, the Cavaliers were scheduled to leave Charlottesville on Saturday to head to Boston ahead of Wednesday’s Fenway Bowl. Instead, the team wasn’t able to depart as it had to wait for COVID-19 testing results.

Virginia had pushed back its departure to Sunday due to the late testing results, but it will now be forced to remain in Charlottesville and not play in the Fenway Bowl at all due to its number of positive COVID-19 tests within the program.

Virginia was 6-6 coming into the bowl game, while SMU presented an overall record of 8-4. The Cavaliers were 2.5-point favorites, and the over/under was set at 71.5 points.