South Carolina pulls out of 2020 Gasparilla Bowl vs. UAB

UPDATE: December 22, 6:00 p.m. ESPN has decided to cancel the 2020 Gasparilla Bowl.

UPDATE: December 22, 2:00 p.m. This game is off because of Covid-19 issues at South Carolina according to the school, and apparently a player insurrection against interim coach Mike Bobo.

No replacement would seem to be available for the conference champion Gamecocks.

The South Carolina Gamecocks and the UAB Blazers will face off in the 2020 Gasparilla Bowl. The game will take place at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Florida. Kickoff is currently scheduled for 12:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 26. The game will air on ABC and be available via live stream at WatchESPN.

The South Carolina Gamecocks (2-8) have the fewest wins of any team to play in a bowl game in the history of college football. Losers of six consecutive games to end the regular season, they parted ways with their head coach Will Muschamp and saw multiple players opt-out of the college football season. But they’ll get to enjoy the sunshine and beaches of Tampa Bay with new coach head coach Shane Beamer while 9-2 Army sits at home over the winter. What a system. A player to watch in this game is wide receiver Shi Smith, as the 5-foot-10 wideout had 57 receptions for 633 yards and four touchdowns in the regular season.

The UAB Blazers (6-3) beat the Marshall Thundering Herd 22-13 on Friday night to win the Conference USA championship. UAB got great performances from both quarterback Tyler Johnston III and running back Spencer Brown. Johnston completed 12-of-22 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns, and Brown recorded a game-high 149 rushing yards on 30 carries. The senior Brown has 889 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns entering this last game.

UAB has won their conference championship in two out of the last three years, and South Carolina has yet to win a single SEC crown in school history.