Players, Coaches React to UCLA Football Dropping Out of Holiday Bowl Versus NC State
The Bruins' inability to field enough healthy players for their bowl games caused quite the stir online Tuesday.
Soon after news broke that UCLA football (8-4, 6-3 Pac-12) had to step away from the Holiday Bowl and its matchup with No. 18 NC State (9-3, 6-2 ACC) due to COVID-19 protocols, reports and takes were flying around online from everyone on the roster, on the staff, in San Diego and beyond.
It didn't take long for the Bruins' players to react to the cancellation on social media, expressing their disappointment in their seasons and careers coming to a swift and sudden close.
UCLA Athletic Director Martin Jarmond released two statements over the course of the afternoon as well. Jarmond shared his disappointment, while also adding some brief clarifications into how it all went down.
NC State coach Dave Doeren was not accepting that narrative, however, and he made it clear that he blamed UCLA for how the situation was handled and how the timeline unnecessarily hurt the Wolfpack.
NC State receiver Thayer Thomas took it one step further, accusing UCLA of having a player vote to bow out of the game. A UCLA Athletics spokesperson soon disputed that claim, but that didn't stop Thomas' tweet from catching on.
Several UCLA players did not take very kindly to Thomas' conspiracy theory, and they did their best to shut it down and put him in his place.
The drama and tension was at an all-time high on Tuesday, but as much as the Bruins would have liked to take the field, they were simply unable to do so. The Holiday Bowl has yet to have been cancelled outright, with the possibility of a team replacing UCLA still in the air, but it seems like the Bruins are done for the year regardless.
Several players, such as Andrus and Tyler Manoa, have already announced their intentions to return for an additional year, and that same dilemma will present itself to a handful of other key contributors in the coming weeks. Until then, the discourse on what went down a few hours prior to the Holiday Bowl will continue, and the layers will continue to make their voices heard.
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