Bowl games just aren’t what they used to be. That much is evident by the abundance of teams that have declined the opportunity to take part in a bowl game this season.
Notably, Notre Dame rejected the chance to take part in the Pop-Tarts Bowl against BYU after being snubbed from the College Football Playoff. The school issued a statement indicating its football season was over.
The Fighting Irish weren’t the only team uninterested in participating in the postseason exhibitions, however. In fact, due to a handful of teams rejecting their bowl game opportunities, the NCAA was struggling to find an opponent for Georgia Southern in the Birmingham Bowl. Multiple sub-.500 schools were offered the chance to take on the Eagles in the bowl game, and at least seven teams with records of 5–7 were reported to have denied the invitation.
In the end, the eighth time was the charm. Georgia Southern was finally able to lock down an opponent after Appalachian State accepted the offer to take them on in the Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 29, according to Brett McMurphy of On3.
Among the teams to deny the advances from the Birmingham include Auburn, Baylor, Rutgers, Kansas, UCF, Baylor and Temple, per McMurphy. Appalachian State was willing and ready when asked to step up and play in the bowl game at the end of the month, so it will be given the opportunity.
With the introduction of the expanded College Football Playoff, as well as the transfer portal and other offseason changes, teams are less interested in playing in bowl games as opposed to getting a head start on their preparation for the upcoming season. More and more teams have been opting out of the postseason games, and it seems likely to be a trend that continues as the CFP expands further.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Georgia Southern Finally Gets Birmingham Bowl Matchup After Seven Teams Reject Invite.