After an afternoon of negotiations and haggling, Rutgers accepted a bid to the St. Petersburg Bowl. An announcement is shortly.
The Scarlet Knights (8-4) will face Central Florida on Dec. 19 at Tropicana Field. Kickoff is slated for 8 p.m.
It caps a wild 24-hour cycle in which bowls jockeyed for positions, with the Meineke Car Care Bowl finalizing a deal to have Pittsburgh play against North Carolina in the Charlotte, N.C.-based game.
Had Rutgers beaten West Virginia on Saturday, the Scarlet Knights would have gone to the Meineke Bowl.
Instead, they will play in St. Petersburg, which comes at the front end of the bowl schedule and creates a few logistical problems for the Scarlet Knights.
The game comes while Rutgers is at the tail end of finals, and also means a limited amount of developmental time in practice for the younger players in the program.
Meanwhile, Connecticut accepted an invitation to play South Carolina in the Papajohns.com Bowl in Birmingham, Ala. South Florida will play in either the International Bowl or the Little Caesars Bowl.