Shreveport? Birmingham? Annapolis? Here’s where the experts say Miami could be bowling
The Miami Hurricanes are heading to a bowl game for the seventh consecutive year, but their trip this year won’t be as glamorous as their berth into the Orange Bowl in 2017. It probably won’t even be as exciting as their trip to the Pinstripe Bowl last season.
Miami’s two-game losing streak to end the season — culminating with a 27-17 loss to the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday in Durham, North Carolina — has the Hurricanes likely headed to one of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s lowest-tier bowl games.
Forget about staying in Miami Gardens. Forget about a trip up to New York. The Hurricanes (6-6, 4-4) are most likely heading to the Independence Bowl, Military Bowl or Quick Lane Bowl, or maybe even the Birmingham Bowl or Gasparilla Bowl. Miami will find out its postseason fate Sunday.
The Independence Bowl is the most popular projection for the Hurricanes heading into conference championship weekend and a meeting with a Florida opponent is a distinct possibility. Sporting News, Athlon Sports, College Football News, Stadium 247Sports.com and both of ESPN.com’s bowl prognosticators all predict a trip to Shreveport, Louisiana, for Miami. The FAU Owls and Central Florida Knights are both possible opponents. Stadium, 247Sports and ESPN’s Mark Schlabach all have the Hurricanes facing FAU on Dec. 26, while College Football News envisions a meeting with UCF.
There is a chance Miami could meet a Southeastern Conference opponent at Independence Stadium — the bowl typically pits ACC and SEC, but the SEC might not have enough bowl teams depending how many go to New Year’s Six games and the College Football Playoff. Sporting News’ current projection has the Hurricanes facing the Texas A&M Aggies — coached by former Florida State Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher. Other potential opponents for Miami include the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, as projected by ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura, and the Marshall Thundering Herd, which is Athlon’s prediction.
If not Shreveport, a trip to Birmingham, Alabama, is the next most likely destination. CBSSports.com, USA Today, Yahoo Sports and SB Nation all peg the Hurricanes to the Birmingham Bowl, which is typically for American Athletic Conference and SEC teams. Miami would be filling in for the SEC, which means likely facing an American team. USA Today and SB Nation both see the Hurricanes playing the No. 21 Cincinnati Bearcats, while Yahoo projects Miami to face the Navy Midshipmen and CBS Sports has the Tulane Green Wave as the opponent at Legion Field next month.
A trip to Annapolis, Maryland, for the Military Bowl is also in play. Bleacher Report has the Hurricanes traveling to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium to face the No. 23 Midshipmen on Dec. 27. The Military Bowl typically pits ACC and AAC teams against one another.
The best-case scenario for Miami in terms of bowl prestige, according to projections, is the Sun Bowl, which is for ACC and Pac-12 Conference teams. Sports Illustrated has the optimistic outlook for the Hurricanes, predicting a trip to El Paso on Dec. 31 to face the Washington Huskies at the Sun Bowl.
Although none of the other major prognosticators has a similar outlook, the Sun Bowl does sit on the same tier as the Belk Bowl, Pinstripe Bowl, Music City Bowl and Gator Bowl.
