How many ACC teams made a bowl game? Schedule, matchups and more
By Quinn Everts
The final game of the ACC football season was a thriller, as the Clemson Tigers beat the SMU Mustangs, 34-31, in an overtime bout. Clemson went 3-2 down the stretch of the regular season, losing its final game to SEC opponent South Carolina, but bounced back with a College Football Playoff-clinching win in the conference championship game.
Although Clemson's spot in the CFP's 12-team field was pretty much guaranteed when they upended SMU, where exactly Clemson would be seeded and who they would be playing was not as clear. Plus, whether SMU — which finished the season 11-2 after losing in the ACC Championship — would make the Playoff was the big question heading into Sunday's selection show.
How many ACC teams made a bowl game?
To qualify for a bowl game, a college football team needs to win 6 games during the regular season. In the ACC, 13 teams won at least six games, so the ACC will be very well represented throughout bowl season.
Clemson (10-3), SMU (11-2), Miami (10-2), Syracuse (9-3), Louisville (8-4), Georgia Tech (7-5), Duke (9-3), Virginia Tech (6-6), Boston College (7-5), NC State (6-6), Pitt (7-5), UNC (6-6), Cal (6-6) all reached the threshold necessary to be bowl eligible.
The two teams that played in the ACC Championship Game, Clemson and SMU, both qualified for the College Football Playoff. Clemson — which ended the season ranked No. 16 but qualified because they won the ACC — will play Texas in the first round of the CFP.
SMU will play Penn State in the first round. The Mustangs snuck in as the last at-large bid, beating out Alabama which missed the field completely.
The ACC getting two teams into the field didn't feel likely heading into selection day on Sunday, but SMU wasn't penalized for playing in the ACC Championship Game after all, and the Selection Committee decided that its resume was strong enough to earn a spot in the CFP.
It won't be an easy task to head into State College and play Penn State, which almost upended Oregon in the Big Ten Championship, but head coach Rhett Lashlee and his team will just be happy to be in the field.
ACC bowl game schedule
Although the teams in each of these games haven't been announced yet, the ACC's "bowl affiliations" were announced earlier this year, so we know which games these 13 teams will likely play in. The matchups for those games will be announced in the coming days and weeks.
Gasparilla Bowl — Friday, December 20th, 3:30 PM EST
Birmingham Bowl — Friday, December 27th, 12 PM or 3:30 PM EST
Fenway Bowl — Saturday, December 28th, 11 a.m. ET
Pinstripe Bowl – Saturday, December 28th, Noon ET
Pop-Tarts Bowl — Saturday, December 28th, 3:30 p.m. ET
Military Bowl — Saturday, December 28th 5:45 p.m. ET
Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl — Tuesday, December 31, 2 PM EST
Gator Bowl — Tuesday, January 2nd, 7:30 PM
Duke's Mayo Bowl — Friday, January 3rd, 7:30 PM
Holiday Bowl — TBD
Two teams in the College Football Playoff and 13 total teams headed for a bowl game is a successful overall season for the conference, even if some teams had somewhat disappointing individual seasons.
Syracuse surprised in its first season under Fran Brown while SMU dominated the conference and earned a well-deserved CFP berth.
But for Miami, which was in the field of 12 for most of the season, ending the year on the outside looking in feels like a punch to the gut. Whichever bowl game the Hurricanes play in won't feel meaningful, and as the "second team out" from the CFP field, they'll likely play another top-20 team in whichever bowl they accept an invitation to.
The new members who came over from the former Pac-12, Cal and Stanford, weren't great in their first years as ACC members, but Cal at least qualified for a bowl game.
The biggest question remaining for the ACC is which team will get a chance to kill and eat the Pop Tart mascot at the Pop Tart Bowl on December 28th. Our greatest new national tradition will continue and the ACC is hoping it can represent the newest installment of it.