Aggie-nizing: Will There Be a Gator Bowl in 2021? Texas A&M Bows Out Due to Covid, Injuries

Illinois (5-7) and Marshall are two of the teams hoping to replace the Aggies in this year's Gator Bowl and face off against Wake Forest. 

Texas A&M will not participate in the Gator Bowl due to COVID-19 issues and season-ending injuries within the program.

Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork told ESPN that the program was down to 38 scholarship position players, of which 20 were offensive and defensive linemen.

Whomever the 10-3 Demon Deacons play they will likely be a big favorite.

Illinois (5-7) was eliminated from bowl contention once all eligible teams were selected on Dec. 5.  Marshall lost to Louisiana in the New Orleans Bowl last week.

Wake athletic director John Currie said at least five teams have reached out expressing an interest to play.

Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson said that he met with his team's captains and that they still want to play in the game -- as long as they have a new opponent by this Friday.

"Overwhelmingly, the captains, they want to play in the Gator Bowl," Clawson said. "That's what they said. We've worked really hard to get to a bowl of this caliber, of this prestige. We have a ton of family members that are flying there. We oversold our bowl allotment again. We want to spend another game with Deacon Nation."

The Gator Bowl tie-ins included teams from the SEC, Big Ten, ACC, making it among the most watched and wagered on College Bowl games.

The following lines would be likely: Wake Forest -10 vs. Illinois and Wake Forest -12 vs. Marshall.

- Ean Lamb, Gambling911.com