Another week without a win has come and gone for Syracuse Orange football. Leading 7-3 after the first quarter, SU’s offense came to a screeching halt in an eventual 27-10 loss to Chapel Bill and the North
Carolina Tar Heels.
While the lack of a true quarterback remains a glaring issue for Fran Brown, perhaps an even bigger problem is the lack of progress on our Go Bowling Military Bowl O’Meter after Week 10:
We were cooking with gas to start the season, but the loss of Steve Angeli has translated to five straight defeats, firmly putting the Orange outside of Bowl Season.
Like last week, let’s check out where the same “experts” project other ACC teams to play in the postseason.
College Football Playoff Hopefuls
Whoever wins the ACC Championship Game
I had No. 17 Georgia Tech (8-1) and No. 18 Miami (6-2) in this tier last week, but they were both upset by NC State and SMU, respectively. Sadly, most experts agree that those losses turned the ACC into a one-bid league, meaning whoever wins the conference championship will be the only representative in the CFP. However, this opens the door for No. 14 Virginia (8-1, 5-0) and No. 15 Louisville (7-1), who both have a realistic shot to appear in and win the conference title game.
Higher-Tier Bowl Game Hopefuls
No. 24 Pittsburgh (7-2), Duke (5-3) & SMU (6-3)
The Panthers have a small sliver of hope for making the conference championship game, but it would likely take wins over GT and Miami to do so. Duke pulled off a thrilling 46-45 upset over in Clemson last week, thrusting itself back into respectable bowl contention. The Mustangs also robbed the Hurricanes of an at-large bid chance (if there ever was one), and could easily finish with eight wins and a New Year’s Bowl appearance.
Should be in
Wake Forest (5-3), California (5-3), NC State (5-4)
Nothing’s set in stone yet, but with Delaware still on Wake’s schedule and Cal facing Stanford soon, I’m comfortable with giving both a spot. The Wolfpack offense dropped 48 in the aforementioned win over Georgia Tech, so a similar performance against UNC will have them bowling. Expect these teams to steal Syracuse’s Pinstripe or Fenway Bowl thunder.
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Where do you think the rest of the ACC will fall in Bowl Season? Let us know in the comments below.
