Football

ACC Football Ready for Bowl Season

Weekly Release: Bowl Season

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference will kick off its bowl season on Thursday, Dec. 21, playing 11 games in 10 days, culminating with a top-10 matchup with No. 5 Florida State versus No. 6 Georgia at the Capital One Orange Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 30.
 
Led by undefeated 2023 ACC Champion and No. 5 nationally ranked Florida State’s 11th appearance in the Capital One Orange Bowl, the Atlantic Coast Conference placed a Power 5-leading 11 teams in football postseason games.
 
The 11 ACC bowl-eligible teams match a conference high from 2018.
 
This is the 23rd consecutive season in which the ACC earned at least six bowl bids. Not including the pandemic-affected 2020 season, the ACC has sent at least nine teams to a bowl every year since 2016. Since 2013, the ACC is second among all conferences with 111 postseason appearances counting the 11 from this year.
 
ACC Bowl Schedule
Thursday, Dec. 21 – RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl; Boca Raton, Fla.
Syracuse (6-6) vs. South Florida (6-6) – 8 p.m. (ESPN)
 
Friday, Dec. 22 – Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl; Tampa, Fla.
Georgia Tech (6-6) vs. UCF (6-6) – 6:30 p.m. (ESPN)
 
Saturday, Dec. 23 – 76® Birmingham Bowl; Birmingham, Ala.
Duke (7-5) vs. Troy (11-2) – Noon (ABC)
 
Wednesday, Dec. 27 – Military Bowl presented by GoBowling.com; Annapolis, Md.
Virginia Tech (6-6) vs. Tulane (11-2) – 2 p.m. (ESPN)
 
Wednesday, Dec. 27 – Duke’s Mayo Bowl; Charlotte, N.C.
North Carolina (8-4) vs. West Virginia (8-4) – 5:30 p.m. (ESPN)
 
Wednesday, Dec. 27 - DirecTV Holiday Bowl; San Diego, Calif.
No. 15 Louisville (10-3) vs. USC (7-5) – 8 p.m. (FOX)
 
Thursday, Dec. 28 – Wasabi Fenway Bowl; Boston, Mass.
Boston College (6-6) vs. No. 24 SMU (11-2) – 11 a.m. (ESPN)
 
Thursday, Dec. 28 – Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl; Bronx, N.Y.
Miami (7-5) vs. Rutgers (6-6) – 2:15 p.m.  (ESPN)
 
Thursday, Dec. 28 – Pop-Tarts Bowl; Orlando, Fla.
No. 18 NC State (9-3) vs. No. 25 Kansas State (8-4) – 5:45 p.m. (ESPN)
 
Friday, Dec. 29 – TaxSlayer Gator Bowl; Jacksonville, Fla.
No. 22 Clemson (8-4) vs. Kentucky (7-5) – Noon (ESPN)
 
Friday, Dec. 29 – Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl; El Paso, Texas
No. 16 Notre Dame (9-3) vs. No. 19 Oregon State (8-4) – 2 p.m. (CBS)
 
Saturday, Dec. 30 – Capital One Orange Bowl; Miami Gardens, Fla.
No. 5 Florida State (13-0) vs. No. 6 Georgia (12-1) – 4 p.m. (ESPN)
 
ACC Notes
  • Over two-thirds of the ACC is bowl eligible, as 11 of the 14 teams are bowl eligible - Florida State (13-0), Louisville (10-3), NC State (9-3), Clemson (8-4), North Carolina (8-4), Duke (7-5), Miami (7-5), Georgia Tech (6-6), Virginia Tech (6-6), Boston College (6-6), and Syracuse (6-6).
  • The 11 ACC bowl-eligible teams are the most among all Power 5 conferences.
  • The 11 ACC bowl-eligible teams also match a conference high from 2018.
  • Heading into this season, the ACC has averaged 10 bowl-eligible teams each year since 2017, including a high of 11 teams in 2018. In 2022, the ACC had nine teams play in a bowl game.
  • The ACC had four teams in the final College Football Playoff Rankings (Dec. 3) - Florida State (No. 5), Louisville (No. 15), NC State (No. 18), and Clemson (No. 22) – tied for the second-most among all FBS conferences.
  • The Florida State Seminoles were ranked in the top five of the Associated Press Top 25 poll, coming in at No. 4 overall in the latest poll on Dec. 3. Joining the Seminoles in the AP Top 25 poll was Louisville, which was ranked at No. 16 overall, and NC State at No. 19. Clemson also received votes in the poll.
  • The ACC has posted a 50.4 winning percentage versus Power 5 opponents this season - conference and non-conference combined - the second-best winning percentage among all Power 5 conferences.
  • The ACC is one of just three conferences in all of FBS with a winning record over Power 5 opponents - conference and non-conference games combined.
  • ACC teams have a combined 14 wins over top 25 nationally ranked opponents (at the time of the game) this season - the third-most among all Power 5 conferences.
  • The ACC has been solid in non-conference play this season, going 39-17 (.696) overall in non-conference play.
  • The ACC’s 39 non-conference wins are the second-most non-conference wins among all FBS conferences.
  • ACC teams are 10-7 combined against the SEC and Big Ten, with the ACC recording six wins over the SEC and four versus the Big Ten. The rest of FBS is 10-47 overall versus the two Power 5 conferences.