One of the college bowl games with an ACC tie-in will not be played this season, as the organizers of the Holiday Bowl have decided not to play their game this year, they announced on Thursday.
The Holiday Bowl has been played annually since 1978 in San Diego, California, and this was the first year it was scheduled to be part of the ACC’s bowl rotation, with a team from the conference scheduled to play an opponent from the Pac-12.
“The Pac-12 shares in the Holiday Bowl’s disappointment that the current COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the cancellation of this year’s game,” the Pac-12 said in a press release. “The Holiday Bowl is a premier and historic post-season game loved by fans across the country, and we look forward to the 2021 and future editions of the game.”
The ACC champion will either play in the College Football Playoff or the Orange Bowl. If an ACC team is in the College Football Playoff, the second-place team from the league will take part in the Orange Bowl
The league also has tie-ins with the Camping World Bowl in Orlando, the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla., the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte, the Fenway Bowl in Boston, the Pinstripe Bowl in New York, the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, the Military Bowl in Annapolis, Md., the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La.
There are also possibilities for the league to place teams in the Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa, Fla., the Birmingham (Ala.) Bowl and the First Responders Bowl in Dallas.
Every NCAA team has been granted bowl eligibility this season. It’s not clear what criteria, the ACC will use to fill its bowl tie-ins.
This won’t effect PITT 3-8/4-7 teams don’t get bowl bids.