Ranking ACC football bowl games, from an all-orange Orange to a gas of a Gasparilla
Suffice to say Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney is rather excited for his team to be representing the ACC in the Orange Bowl for the fourth time in 12 years.
“The game will be an awesome game – I mean, to me this is a playoff game,” Swinney said. “In a couple of years, it would be a playoff game.”
The 89th Orange Bowl isn’t short on cachet, to be sure.
With Tennessee No. 6 in the College Football Playoff ranking and Clemson right behind at No. 7, the Orange Bowl will pair the two highest-ranked teams outside of the playoff.
The bowl season kicks off on Dec. 16 with the Bahamas Bowl between Miami (Ohio) and UAB and concludes with the National Championship Game on Jan. 9.
In between are 40 bowl games, nine of which will include ACC teams.
Not counting the pandemic-impacted 2020 season, the ACC has sent at least nine of its teams to a bowl every year since 2016 and the league is second among all conferences with 100 postseason appearances since 2013.
The SEC leads the way this year with 11 bowl teams while the ACC and Big Ten follow with nine apiece. The Big 12 has eight bowl teams while the Pac-12 has seven.
Here are the ACC’s nine bowls, ranked from most to least interesting:
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1. Orange Bowl: No. 7 Clemson (11-2) vs. No. 6 Tennessee (10-2)
Fri., Dec. 30, 8 p.m., ESPN
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
The skinny: It’s an all-orange Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens and the first meeting between the teams since the 2003 Peach Bowl. The game not only pits the Vols’ high-scoring offense against Clemson’s stingy defense, but has an additional layer of intrigue with quarterbacks Joe Milton and Cade Klubnik replacing Hendon Hooker and DJ Uiagalelei, for Tennessee and Clemson, respectively.
2. Holiday Bowl: North Carolina (9-4) vs. No. 15 Oregon (9-3)
Wed., Dec. 28, 8 p.m., FOX
Petco Park, San Diego
The skinny: High-scoring game, anyone? North Carolina limped home, losing its last three games, and the Tar Heels’ defense may be even more porous after losing 11 defensive players to the transfer portal, including six cornerbacks. Oregon ranks 76th in scoring defense, so let the fireworks begin.
3. Military Bowl: Duke (8-4) vs. UCF (9-4)
Wed., Dec. 28, 2 p.m., ESPN
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Maryland
The skinny: Talk about a reversal of fortune. Duke went 8-4 under ACC Coach of the Year Mike Elko after winning five games combined over the previous two seasons. The quarterbacks – Duke’s underrated Riley Leonard and UCF’s John Rhys Plumlee – should be fun to watch.
4. Cheez-It Bowl: No. 13 Florida State (9-3) vs. Oklahoma (6-6)
Thurs., Dec. 29, 5:30 p.m., ESPN
Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Florida
The skinny: Two teams trending in opposite directions. This looks like a bad matchup for first-year coach Brent Venables and the Sooners, who are hoping to avoid their first losing season since 1998. The Seminoles, behind dual-threat quarterback Jordan Travis, could notch their first 10-win season since 2016.
5. Fenway Bowl: Louisville (7-5) vs. Cincinnati (9-3)
Sat., Dec. 17, 11 a.m., ESPN
Fenway Park, Boston
The skinny: Louisville coach Scott Satterfield jumped ship to take the job at Cincinnati, but the situation won’t be as awkward as it could be since interim coaches will be at the helm on both sides. It’s also at least mildly interesting that two schools 99 miles apart will meet in Boston (snow, anyone?) in mid-December.
6. Duke’s Mayo Bowl: No. 23 NC State (8-4) vs. Maryland (7-5)
Fri., Dec. 30, 12 p.m., ESPN
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
The skinny: Former ACC rivals NC State and Maryland get together again with their series tied at 33 wins apiece. The Wolfpack have to travel all of 168 miles for this game, which traditionally culminates with the winning coach getting a Duke’s mayonnaise bath. That alone is worth a watch.
MORE:NC State football vs. Maryland in Duke's Mayo bowl: Score prediction, scouting report
7. Sun Bowl: Pitt (8-4) vs. No. 18 UCLA (9-3)
Fri., Dec. 30, 2 p.m., CBS
Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas
The skinny: Run wild in the Sun. This matchup may be worth a look since it includes two of the top running backs in the nation in Pitt’s Israel Abanikanda (130.1 ypg.) and UCLA’s Zach Charbonnet (135.9 ypg.).
8. Pinstripe Bowl: Syracuse (7-5) vs. Minnesota (8-4)
Thurs., Dec. 29, 2 p.m., ESPN
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York City
The skinny: It seems like a long time ago that Syracuse jumped out to a 6-0 start and reached No. 14 in the nation, namely because it was (Oct. 16). The Orange struggled mightily when they hit the meat of the schedule, but Coach Dino Babers will be plenty happy to be in New York City after missing out on the postseason for the last three years.
9. Gasparilla Bowl: Wake Forest (7-5) vs. Missouri (6-6)
Fri., Dec. 23, 6:30 p.m., ESPN
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
The skinny: Wake Forest lost four of five after a 6-1 start; Missouri lost four games by a touchdown or less, including a four-point loss vs. No. 1 Georgia, but closed the regular season with a two-point win against Arkansas. Wake Forest QB Sam Hartman and his plethora of talented wide receivers are worth a look.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: ACC football bowl schedule ranked, starting with all-orange Orange
