ACC secures 10 Bowl bids for 2017 postseason |
GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Reigning national champion Clemson’s top seed and return to the College Football Playoff highlights a Sunday in which 10 of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s 14 football members secured spots in 2017 postseason bowl games.
The ACC Champion Tigers (12-1) are No. 1 in the CFP field and will face No. 4 Alabama (11-1) in the CFP Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl at 8:45 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 1. It will mark the third-consecutive year that Clemson has faced the Crimson Tide in the College Football Playoff. The Tigers defeated Alabama 35-31 in last season’s CFP final, while the Crimson Tide claimed the national championship over Clemson with a 45-40 win two years ago. If the Tigers advance past the Tide this year, they will face No. 2 Oklahoma (12-1) or No. 3 Georgia (12-1) for the CFP National Championship at 8 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 8, at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. ACC Coastal Division champion and 10th-ranked Miami (10-2) will face No. 6 Wisconsin (12-1) in the Capital One Orange Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 30, at 8 p.m. (ESPN). It will be the 41st bowl appearance for the Hurricanes, who own a 20-20 record in their previous postseason games. Miami will be playing in the Orange Bowl for the 10th time, but the first since 2004. The Hurricanes own a 6-3 record in their previous appearances. Since 2012, the ACC has posted an 8-3 record in the New Year’s Six Bowls and College Football Playoff Games – the best among peer conferences. The ACC has won five consecutive Orange Bowl games, the longest streak by any conference in 72 years. A total of 52 ACC teams have earned postseason bids over the past five seasons. This marks the 17th consecutive year that at least six ACC teams landed in bowl games. The ACC ranks second among all conferences with 116 total bowl bids since 2005. A pair of ACC schools will continue the two longest current Division I bowl streaks in the nation, as Florida State (36th straight year) and Virginia Tech (25th straight) confirmed their postseason destinations. Clemson is bidding for the program’s third national football championship, and the third by an ACC team in the last five seasons. The Tigers have won six of their last seven postseason games and take a 22-19 all-time postseason record into their rematch with Alabama. Both CFP semifinals and the national championship game will be carried live by ESPN. With Clemson’s repeat selection, the ACC has placed a team in the College Football Playoff in each of its first four years of existence. The Tigers earned the No. 2 seed last season and the No. 1 seed in 2015. Florida State was seeded No. 3 as the conference champion in 2014. The ACC is one of just two conferences that has placed a team in the College Football Playoff or the BCS Championship in each of the last five years. Boston College (7-5), Duke (6-6), Louisville (8-4), NC State (8-4), Virginia (6-6) and Wake Forest (7-5) are also bound for bowl games. No. 22 Virginia Tech (9-3) is set for the Camping World Bowl in Orlando, Florida, at 5:15 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 28 (ESPN). The Hokies, under second-year head coach Justin Fuente, are 14-17 all-time in bowl games and are seeking their fourth straight win in postseason play. No. 24 NC State is headed to El Paso, Texas, for the Hyundai Sun Bowl at 3 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 29 (CBS). The Wolfpack stands 16-13-1 all-time in bowl games and will take part in postseason play for the fourth straight year under fifth-year head coach Dave Doeren. Louisville has a noon date in the TaxSlayer Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 30, in Jacksonville, Florida (ESPN). The Cardinals will make their fourth bowl appearance in as many years as an ACC member and their eighth straight overall. Louisville, which will play in a bowl game for the 22nd time, owns a 10-10-1 record in previous appearances. Wake Forest, 7-4 all-time in bowl games, will make its second consecutive postseason appearance when it plays in Belk Bowl at 1 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 29 (ESPN), at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium. Boston College is slated for the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at New York’s Yankee Stadium at 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 27 (ESPN). The Eagles, who are 14-11 all-time in bowl games, seek their second consecutive postseason win. Virginia will make its first bowl appearance since 2011 on Dec. 28, when makes the trip to Annapolis for the Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman. That game is set for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff (ESPN). The Cavaliers are 7-11 in 18 previous bowl games. Duke will be the first ACC team to see action this postseason when it travels to Detroit’s Ford Field for the Quick Lane Bowl at 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 26 (ESPN). The Blue Devils, 4-8 all-time in bowl games, will make their fifth postseason appearance in the last six seasons under veteran head coach David Cutcliffe. Florida State (6-6) is set for a Dec. 27 date in the Walk-Ons Independence Bowl at Shreveport, Louisiana, at 1:30 p.m. (ESPN). The Seminoles own a 28-16-2 all-time record in bowl games, a winning percentage of .630, which ties for fourth best among all schools that have played 15 or more postseason games. In addition to the 10 bowl bids awarded ACC football teams, Notre Dame earned a spot in the Citrus Bowl presented by Overton’s in Orlando at 1 p.m. on New Year’s Day (ABC). With the ACC facing a Big Ten opponent (Wisconsin) in this year’s Capital One Orange Bowl, the Citrus Bowl was allowed to choose Notre Dame or an ACC team prior to the Camping World Bowl making its selection. All starting times listed for upcoming bowl games involving ACC teams are Eastern. Official ACC bowl matchups
Clemson v Bama
Miami v Wisconsin
VT v Okla St
UL v Miss St
WF v Texas A&M
BC v Iowa
NCSU v Arizona St
UVa v Navy
FSU v So Miss
Duke v NIU
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