After some chaos at the end of the season, particularly where College Football Playoff spots were concerned, the ACC scored pretty well for postseason bids for the 2024 season. Nearly everyone in the ACC got post-season bids. Including the two playoff spots, 13 of the 17 ACC teams will be playing in the postseason.
The biggest headlines of course are for the initial 12-team playoff format. With Clemson getting the thrilling last-second three-point win over SMU, it secured the Tigers’ bid as an automatic qualifier with the conference championship. Clemson, at 10-3, got the 12th seed and will play the fifth-seeded Texas Longhorns, in Austin in the first round of the playoffs on 12/21.
That left SMU in a bit of a lurch. If the Mustangs had won the game Saturday night, they would have been the ACC’s automatic qualifier and the conference would likely have only gotten one team in. While the Alabama and SEC faithful protested vehemently, the playoff committee decided it was impossible to leave out a team that had only lost two games by a combined total of six points. So, the Mustangs with their 11-2 record got the 11th seed and will open on the road against Penn State. The game will be on December 21st.
Of course, there are still a slew of bowl games to be played. The TV ratings are usually lacking, but the local communities that host the games make significant revenue from the tourism for the games. And with the bowl bids being finalized Sunday, the ACC did well here also.
College Bowl Games Finalized
Early Bowl Games
LA Bowl: The game, now hosted by Rob Gronkowsi at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, will feature ACC newcomer Cal facing UNLV on Wednesday, December 18th, at 9 pm Eastern Coast/ACC time.
GameAbove Sports Bowl: This used to be the Quick Lane Bowl. The Pitt Panthers will face Toledo at Ford Field in Detroit the day after Christmas at 2 p.m. Eastern.
Birmingham Bowl; The Georgia Tech Yellowjackets will play the Vanderbilt Commodores, one of the teams that ruined Alabama’s playoff hopes, on December 27th, with a kickoff time still to be finalized.
Holiday Bowl; The Syracuse Orange, who had a huge season under first-year head coach Fran Brown will go cross country to play Washington State in San Diego on December 27th at 8 pm Eastern.
A Big Day for the ACC
Fenway Bowl: The North Carolina Tar Heels, who will be playing under an interim coach, will meet UConn in the Fenway Bowl at Fenway Park in Boston on December 28th at 11 a.m. Eastern.
Pinstripe Bowl; If a bowl game in a baseball stadium is good enough for one ACC school, then it is good enough for two. Boston College and Nebraska will meet at Yankee Stadium at noon Eastern on the 28th of December.
Pop-Tarts Bowl; Few bowl games have marketed themselves with the fervor of the Pop-Tarts Bowl. This year’s game (which used to be the Cheez-It Bowl), will have Big 12 runner-up Iowa State against the Miami Hurricanes at 3:30 pm Eastern at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, FL.
Military Bowl; The 28th of December apparently will be a big day for ACC schools. North Carolina State and East Carolina will play in the Military Bowl at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, MD. The game is slated for 5:45 pm Eastern time.
New Year’s Games Announced
Sun Bowl; One of the oldest bowl games in the country in El Paso, TX. This year it will be Louisville from the ACC against Washington from the Big 10. Kickoff is 2pm Eastern on New Year’s Eve day.
Gator Bowl: The days after New Year’s, and the playoff quarterfinals, has Duke, with first-year coach Manny Diaz, playing Ole Miss at Everbank Stadium in Jacksonville, FL on Thursday, January 2nd. Kickoff is 7:30 pm Eastern.
Duke’s Mayo Bowl; Last but not least Minnesota and Virginia Tech will play at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC at 7:30 pm on January 3rd.
Last Word on College Football will have previews and post-game analysis of every bowl game this year.
