I think it is perfectly fair to question the AD as far as transparency and the communication with both NC State and the Holiday Bowl. The reactions form both of those groups leads me to believe that UCLA was less than forthright on how COVID could effect them.
oh come on. LA county has some of the highest covid rates in the nation right now. Why would UCLA sports be exempt from contracting it. Half my office has it. Most of my family. You deal.
UCLA is definitely to blame, but I think it falls on Chip. Anyway, my comment was more directed at what seemed to me to be the commenter blaming Jarmond for the number of players in protocols, which is silly, and not for the deception shown towards State (perhaps he does bear some responsibility there too).
The team, really both teams, were obligated contractually to appear at SeaWorld and the Midway museum. We happened to be first to go. NCState would've been next. The Holiday Bowl should've waived mandatory attendance at those events.
Just checked into the hotel in sd because I didn’t want to be penalized the one-night rate for a last minute cancellation. Very sad about how everything turned out.
Really bummed for you, and all the Bruin fans (and NC St fans) who got let down by this. Hope you can enjoy the Gaslamp or Pacific Beach a bit as a minor consolation.
ESPN has an article stating we forfeited because of protocols and not positive tests, whatever that means. This is a Mickey Mouse way to end the season.
I think it was a combination of both. I saw a quote from Chip saying they expected some negative tests today but it didn't happen. But yes, Mickey Mouse.
To cancel a game a few hours before kickoff tells me it’s a decision swayed by the coach. I understand the sensitivity, the delays in Covid testing but a few hours before the game is called ? Something went entirely wrong. I blame coach Kelly because either way if he knew something he could’ve called the game few days ago, not in a few hours.
There are a few angles to look at this scenario in hopes of it making sense. It lands on coach management, just look at the time frame of the cancellation. It’s all predictable. Chip has known about the depth chart issue, or lack their off. Add any additional scenarios with Covid, and he could’ve done the right thing cancel days ahead instead of hours. That would’ve given time to find an opponent for NC state.
The late notice touched off anger and conspiracy theories among the Wolfpack, with coach Dave Doeren describing a lack of communication from UCLA regarding the possibility that the Bruins would be unable to play.
“Felt lied to, to be honest,” Doeren told reporters at the team hotel. “We felt like UCLA probably knew something was going on, didn’t tell anybody on our side. We had no clue they were up against that. I don’t feel like it was very well handled from their university. It would have been great to have had a heads-up so two or three days ago we could have found a Plan B. Disappointing.”
Disappointing is a very tactful way to put it, and this is coming from a head coach and not some player popping off on stupid twitter. I saw some news reports of some cases and players out like in most games lately, but was pretty caught off guard by the outright cancellation at the last minute. If UCLA was intentionally disingenuous about what was going on, that's pretty damn weak.
^^^ this!!! Agree with nc state coach. This is a very disingenuous thing for ucla to do to any team. They flew their entire team 2000 miles during the holiday only to have the game cancelled this far into it? What a complete sham! UCLA knew what was going on and decided not to tell anybody hoping for the best? That’s BS!
you hit the nail on the head. The word selfish comes to mind. Especially with multiple bowls having a team dropping out, the Holiday Bowl could have at least tried to have someone ready to step in.
NC State actively seeking another bowl game. Waiting to see if Clemson has to bail. My question: If enough UCLA players test out of the protocols tomorrow or Thursday, why not just delay the Holiday Bowl.
The indication from Chip Kelly and Bruce Feldman is that there were a number of newly positive players today so it’s highly unlikely they would test out of protocols tomorrow. With that being said, I have the room til Friday so if Thursday so if they have the game this week I’m definitely down to stay and go!
That's not good, but presumably there are a lot of guys in protocols who may come out. I just wish it was still on the table. NC State actually seems to think they still have a shot of bringing someone else to the Holiday bowl, i just don't see why UCLA isn't an option if enough negative tests come back.
You do realize $UC doesn't have a bowl game to prepare for, right, and has the extra time to "woo" the recruits. Having said that, no doubt Riley will conquer California recruiting and the Chipster will have to rely upon the portal as usual.
The CFP has already said that teams can win the national championship through forfeit if necessary and they’re willing to have nobody win this year if none of the top 4 teams can compete
But they do have a contingency plan, given that the definition of a contingency plan is a course of action designed to help an organization respond effectively to a significant future event or situation that may or may not happen. It may not a contingency plan you or others agree is the best plan but the CFP made it clear with enough advance notice (Dec 22nd) that an outbreak is on the team that has that outbreak so plan/act accordingly
Given that, it was interesting to hear one of Alabama's players interviewed talking about they would not participate in any of the pre-bowl activities nor interact with anyone outside practice or within the team, like at the hotel, etc... that all four of the semifinalists seem to have been released from the standard contractual requirements for "Bowl week" unlike all the non-CFP Bowls - if you've been watching other bowls, there's been plenty of coverage of players at other bowls doing all the visits/parades/interactions and taking their chances that an outbreak won't happen - which, unfortunately, clearly did for us.
“If none can compete”, what a dumb NCAA comment. If three of the four teams had to forfeit, would the fourth team them admit they couldn’t field a team? Of course not. Just the toothless NCAA trying to sound tough.
The Holiday Bowl is officially looking for a replacement so that the game can happen a few days from now. Question: Why not UCLA if enough players test negative tomorrow?
Well, good, because that user is misrepresenting a bunch of things about BN, and also copying some of your comments here and using them over there. Neither of those is very cool.
No, BN is dead. And not even...mostly...dead. All dead. But someone was dredging up the past and popping off nonsense about the old BN in an effort to ingratiate him/herself to the NC St crowd.
We actually know who cowboysfanucla was, he had made a few different accounts to post on the old BN. I'm fairly certain he even sent us two separate emails when we figured out he was on his 4th account, one more cordial than the other.
Agree with nc state coach. This is a very disingenuous thing for ucla to do to any team. They flew their entire team 2000 miles during the holiday only to have the game cancelled this far into it? What a complete sham! UCLA knew what was going on and decided not to tell anybody hoping for the best on game day? Come on ucla, you’re better than this! You had a good idea of how many players were testing and in going to need tests. That’s BS to pull out the rug on game day knowing full well how many players must have tested earlier in the morning. If nothing else, you communicate this to the other team. Same thing happened with ucla basketball games with cancellations hours before tipoff with the other team clearly present and ready to play. Be better ucla
they have every right to be livid. But I think the Holiday Bowl handled this poorly. If they were truly trying to salvage the game, they should have waited a day or two to see if enough of our guys tested out of the protocols.
I agree with you if, and it's still an IF as far as we know, UCLA was really dishonest and not forthcoming with NC St and Holiday Bowl officials about what was happening with testing. And to that end, that issue must get addressed and answered. And IF UCLA was withholding information and was intentionally misleading, someone responsible for that needs to lose a job.
No one at UCLA is too blame. I understand why NC State wants to assign blame to UCLA, but the blame is with the people who refused to get vaxxed without a valid medical excuse. Period.
lol. come on. i'm not vaxxed. i was actually at the stadium until the game got postponed. i wasn't feeling so hot today and tested negative. Our players are vaccinated, vaccinated people can transmit the virus, so let's not make this about vaxxed vs. unvaxxed.
Apparently no Holiday Bowl this year for UCLA, NC State, or any other team for that matter (https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/32957819/holiday-bowl-unable-find-replacement-college-football-team-cancels-game). Any lack of communication from Chip Kelly about his team's status isn't shocking to me, so I can understand how NC State, a team traveling from across the country, would be pissed off at UCLA for cancelling out (at the last minute). And if the game had been played last night, would UCLA actually have a reasonable shot, or would they once again to lose to another team with a winning record? If not, maybe Kelly and Jarmond figured they didn't stand a chance with whoever was available to suit up and blamed COVID for this loss... LoL
I imagine the NC St quarterback and receivers were the ones most disappointed at the cancellation. Azz's pass *efense must have looked really tasty to them.
interesting how it was our D-line that got hit the hardest. Perhaps Azz dispatched them for a night on the town hoping to avoid embarrassment on national tv.
For their troubles, #18-ranked NC State got to take home the 2021 Holiday Bowl trophy. Final score: COVID-19, UCLA-0. Still no defense against any winning team or virus--better luck next season, Chip...
lol. 'cmon man. You really going to blame the AD for this? LMAO at "He is also constantly touching his face and eyes too." Ok bro.
I think it is perfectly fair to question the AD as far as transparency and the communication with both NC State and the Holiday Bowl. The reactions form both of those groups leads me to believe that UCLA was less than forthright on how COVID could effect them.
oh come on. LA county has some of the highest covid rates in the nation right now. Why would UCLA sports be exempt from contracting it. Half my office has it. Most of my family. You deal.
UCLA is definitely to blame, but I think it falls on Chip. Anyway, my comment was more directed at what seemed to me to be the commenter blaming Jarmond for the number of players in protocols, which is silly, and not for the deception shown towards State (perhaps he does bear some responsibility there too).
The team, really both teams, were obligated contractually to appear at SeaWorld and the Midway museum. We happened to be first to go. NCState would've been next. The Holiday Bowl should've waived mandatory attendance at those events.
Honestly, Sea World was probably way safer than walking around the hotel.
Heaven forbid people be human. Lame comment.
Just checked into the hotel in sd because I didn’t want to be penalized the one-night rate for a last minute cancellation. Very sad about how everything turned out.
Really bummed for you, and all the Bruin fans (and NC St fans) who got let down by this. Hope you can enjoy the Gaslamp or Pacific Beach a bit as a minor consolation.
ESPN has an article stating we forfeited because of protocols and not positive tests, whatever that means. This is a Mickey Mouse way to end the season.
I think it was a combination of both. I saw a quote from Chip saying they expected some negative tests today but it didn't happen. But yes, Mickey Mouse.
i guess i should retract this. coming out of protocols requires a negative test. but going into protocols doesn't necessarily require a positive test.
It had chip Kelly written all over it. Who else. This season has been exhausting, it’s a fitting way to end it.
What evidence do you have that chip Kelly is to blame?
To cancel a game a few hours before kickoff tells me it’s a decision swayed by the coach. I understand the sensitivity, the delays in Covid testing but a few hours before the game is called ? Something went entirely wrong. I blame coach Kelly because either way if he knew something he could’ve called the game few days ago, not in a few hours.
I don't think so. I think it was genuinely made on the number of unavailable players. The problem is with how it was determined who was unavailable.
There are a few angles to look at this scenario in hopes of it making sense. It lands on coach management, just look at the time frame of the cancellation. It’s all predictable. Chip has known about the depth chart issue, or lack their off. Add any additional scenarios with Covid, and he could’ve done the right thing cancel days ahead instead of hours. That would’ve given time to find an opponent for NC state.
And people would still be bitching!
From the LA times
The late notice touched off anger and conspiracy theories among the Wolfpack, with coach Dave Doeren describing a lack of communication from UCLA regarding the possibility that the Bruins would be unable to play.
“Felt lied to, to be honest,” Doeren told reporters at the team hotel. “We felt like UCLA probably knew something was going on, didn’t tell anybody on our side. We had no clue they were up against that. I don’t feel like it was very well handled from their university. It would have been great to have had a heads-up so two or three days ago we could have found a Plan B. Disappointing.”
Disappointing is a very tactful way to put it, and this is coming from a head coach and not some player popping off on stupid twitter. I saw some news reports of some cases and players out like in most games lately, but was pretty caught off guard by the outright cancellation at the last minute. If UCLA was intentionally disingenuous about what was going on, that's pretty damn weak.
^^^ this!!! Agree with nc state coach. This is a very disingenuous thing for ucla to do to any team. They flew their entire team 2000 miles during the holiday only to have the game cancelled this far into it? What a complete sham! UCLA knew what was going on and decided not to tell anybody hoping for the best? That’s BS!
I agree, too, and am ashamed for my school. This outcome was so predictable.
you hit the nail on the head. The word selfish comes to mind. Especially with multiple bowls having a team dropping out, the Holiday Bowl could have at least tried to have someone ready to step in.
Doeren is an idiot and a shit talker.
If people would only get vaccinated I swear to Christ we could put this nightmare behind us. I just pulled into the parking lot…
you realize the program is almost 100% vaccinated?
yes. Chip says the program is 98% vaccinated. Said it 2 weeks ago and again today.
The vaccine doesn't stop contracting and spreading of the virus. See Cronin.
Any guesses on when DTR makes an announcement? I'm assuming he is gone (and assuming Gabriel would not have come if DTR staying), but you never know.
NC State actively seeking another bowl game. Waiting to see if Clemson has to bail. My question: If enough UCLA players test out of the protocols tomorrow or Thursday, why not just delay the Holiday Bowl.
The indication from Chip Kelly and Bruce Feldman is that there were a number of newly positive players today so it’s highly unlikely they would test out of protocols tomorrow. With that being said, I have the room til Friday so if Thursday so if they have the game this week I’m definitely down to stay and go!
That's not good, but presumably there are a lot of guys in protocols who may come out. I just wish it was still on the table. NC State actually seems to think they still have a shot of bringing someone else to the Holiday bowl, i just don't see why UCLA isn't an option if enough negative tests come back.
Crappy way to end the season especially with this being the first bowl game in a while.
What a joke. While USC is making moves and wooing the recruits, UCLA is nowhere to be found except at Sea World playing with Flipper.
You do realize $UC doesn't have a bowl game to prepare for, right, and has the extra time to "woo" the recruits. Having said that, no doubt Riley will conquer California recruiting and the Chipster will have to rely upon the portal as usual.
let me fix it for you. From a USC perspective: What a joke. While UCLA is (was) prepping for a bowl game, USC is nowhere to be found.
Bummer!... I wonder what will happen if one of the college playoff games is faced with the same set of circumstances???
The CFP has already said that teams can win the national championship through forfeit if necessary and they’re willing to have nobody win this year if none of the top 4 teams can compete
leave it to the NCAA to not have a contingency plan
But they do have a contingency plan, given that the definition of a contingency plan is a course of action designed to help an organization respond effectively to a significant future event or situation that may or may not happen. It may not a contingency plan you or others agree is the best plan but the CFP made it clear with enough advance notice (Dec 22nd) that an outbreak is on the team that has that outbreak so plan/act accordingly
Given that, it was interesting to hear one of Alabama's players interviewed talking about they would not participate in any of the pre-bowl activities nor interact with anyone outside practice or within the team, like at the hotel, etc... that all four of the semifinalists seem to have been released from the standard contractual requirements for "Bowl week" unlike all the non-CFP Bowls - if you've been watching other bowls, there's been plenty of coverage of players at other bowls doing all the visits/parades/interactions and taking their chances that an outbreak won't happen - which, unfortunately, clearly did for us.
that's my point. their contingency plan is no contingency plan at all. I mean it really just amounts to forfeits and move on. No plan.
“If none can compete”, what a dumb NCAA comment. If three of the four teams had to forfeit, would the fourth team them admit they couldn’t field a team? Of course not. Just the toothless NCAA trying to sound tough.
I'd imagine NC State can relate to that - remember they had to forfeit the College WS semifinal matchup against Miss St due to covid...
As a public health official, I'm not the least bit surprised.
The Holiday Bowl is officially looking for a replacement so that the game can happen a few days from now. Question: Why not UCLA if enough players test negative tomorrow?
NCSU's SB nation site really teeing off. Kinda funny to watch.
Guessing you are cowboysfanucla over there?
Nope. Don't have an SB nation account
Well, good, because that user is misrepresenting a bunch of things about BN, and also copying some of your comments here and using them over there. Neither of those is very cool.
Do you mean MB? 😀 is BN still alive 😂😂😂
No, BN is dead. And not even...mostly...dead. All dead. But someone was dredging up the past and popping off nonsense about the old BN in an effort to ingratiate him/herself to the NC St crowd.
i just went to the old BN. looks like someone tried to take over but hasnt posted in over 6 months. Didn't even give a heads up that he was stopping.
in fairness, half of my comments are cut and pasted anyway. i claim no ownership to anything i say here.
Ok, but be careful if you cut mine. You might end up looking pretty silly somewhere. I don't always think and post in that order. ;-) 😂
oh the horror of looking silly on the internet 😂
gbruin, CowboysfanUcla is a dick.
We actually know who cowboysfanucla was, he had made a few different accounts to post on the old BN. I'm fairly certain he even sent us two separate emails when we figured out he was on his 4th account, one more cordial than the other.
Would love to see us get rid of Azz and then give the NCSt program a big F-you by hiring away their DC.
🙄 why are you saying f you to nc state here? UCLA is clearly in the wrong and the disingenuous team here…
Agree with nc state coach. This is a very disingenuous thing for ucla to do to any team. They flew their entire team 2000 miles during the holiday only to have the game cancelled this far into it? What a complete sham! UCLA knew what was going on and decided not to tell anybody hoping for the best on game day? Come on ucla, you’re better than this! You had a good idea of how many players were testing and in going to need tests. That’s BS to pull out the rug on game day knowing full well how many players must have tested earlier in the morning. If nothing else, you communicate this to the other team. Same thing happened with ucla basketball games with cancellations hours before tipoff with the other team clearly present and ready to play. Be better ucla
they have every right to be livid. But I think the Holiday Bowl handled this poorly. If they were truly trying to salvage the game, they should have waited a day or two to see if enough of our guys tested out of the protocols.
I agree with you if, and it's still an IF as far as we know, UCLA was really dishonest and not forthcoming with NC St and Holiday Bowl officials about what was happening with testing. And to that end, that issue must get addressed and answered. And IF UCLA was withholding information and was intentionally misleading, someone responsible for that needs to lose a job.
No one at UCLA is too blame. I understand why NC State wants to assign blame to UCLA, but the blame is with the people who refused to get vaxxed without a valid medical excuse. Period.
lol. come on. i'm not vaxxed. i was actually at the stadium until the game got postponed. i wasn't feeling so hot today and tested negative. Our players are vaccinated, vaccinated people can transmit the virus, so let's not make this about vaxxed vs. unvaxxed.
Apparently no Holiday Bowl this year for UCLA, NC State, or any other team for that matter (https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/32957819/holiday-bowl-unable-find-replacement-college-football-team-cancels-game). Any lack of communication from Chip Kelly about his team's status isn't shocking to me, so I can understand how NC State, a team traveling from across the country, would be pissed off at UCLA for cancelling out (at the last minute). And if the game had been played last night, would UCLA actually have a reasonable shot, or would they once again to lose to another team with a winning record? If not, maybe Kelly and Jarmond figured they didn't stand a chance with whoever was available to suit up and blamed COVID for this loss... LoL
I imagine the NC St quarterback and receivers were the ones most disappointed at the cancellation. Azz's pass *efense must have looked really tasty to them.
interesting how it was our D-line that got hit the hardest. Perhaps Azz dispatched them for a night on the town hoping to avoid embarrassment on national tv.
For their troubles, #18-ranked NC State got to take home the 2021 Holiday Bowl trophy. Final score: COVID-19, UCLA-0. Still no defense against any winning team or virus--better luck next season, Chip...