Virginia Tech Football: How Does Clemson Winning the ACC Championship Affect the Hokies Bowl Destinations?
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It was a wild night in Charlotte in the ACC Championship between Clemson and SMU. Clemson raced out to an early lead and it looked like they were going to win the game by a landslide when it was 31-14 in the 4th quarter. SMU stormed back to tie it until Clemson had a great kickoff return and then kicked a game-winning 56-yard field goal to give Dabo Swinney and the Tigers yet another ACC Championship. Clemson is now going to the College Football Playoff and the debate between SMU and Alabama and who should be in is going to dominate the next 12 hours.
The decision the playoff committee makes will have a trickle-down effect on the rest of the ACC, including Virginia Tech Tech. It felt like for much of the day, the bowl projections were narrowing down and assuming that only one of either SMU or Clemson got in, but the way that the ACC Championship unfolded, there is a decent chance that SMU gets in alongside Clemson. If that does happen, that will shake up the ACC bowl picture. Virginia Tech beat writer Andy Bitter gave a nice summary of this on social media and how it might shake out for everyone.
Possible ACC outlook
— Andy Bitter (@AndyBitterVT) December 8, 2024
Playoff: Clemson (10-3, champ), SMU (11-2)
Gator/Holiday/Pop-Tarts tier: Miami (10-2), Syracuse (9-3), Duke (9-3)
Sun/Pinstripe/Duke’s Mayo tier: Louisville (8-4), GT (7-5) and …
Candidates: BC (7-5), Pitt (7-5), #Hokies (6-6), UNC (6-6), NC State (6-6)
It could shake out with a nice bowl destination for Brent Pry's team this postseason, but we will have to wait until the playoff committee makes their decision on the ACC.
Before the final games on Saturday, here were the projections from various analysts.
Earlier today, the Action Network's Brett McMurphy had the Hokies going to the Duke's Mayo Bowl in Charlotte to face Minnesota.
At 247Sports earlier this week, analyst Brad Crawford switched his projection from Sunday. Originally he had the Hokies in the Fenway Bowl against Tulane, but he now has Virginia Tech heading back to the Military Bowl to face East Carolina. The programs have faced each other 22 times previously and Virginia Tech holds the all-time series lead 15-7.
Earlier this week, Jerry Palm at CBS Sports had Virginia Tech in the Fenway Bowl on and he still has the Hokies making the trip to Boston. Instead of facing East Carolina though, he has them facing UConn, who turned in a nice 8-4 season under Jim Mora Jr and nearly beat a few ACC teams. Virginia Tech has won both previous matchups vs the Huskies in 2001 (52-10) and 2003 (47-13).
The bowl projections from ESPN analysts Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach have not been updated since Sunday. At ESPN, both Bonagura and Schlabach also have Virginia Tech going to Boston to play in the Fenway Bowl. Bonagura has Virginia Tech facing Tulane while Schlabach has them facing Memphis. Virginia Tech has faced Memphis six times previously and the all-time series is tied 3-3. They have not faced each other since 1985 and the Hokies have won the last three matchups between the Tigers.
Additional Links:
Virginia Tech Basketball: Instant Takeaways From The Hokies loss to Pittsburgh
Virginia Tech Football: Offensive Lineman Lance Williams To Enter the Transfer Portal
Virginia Tech Football: Quarterback Jackson Sigler To Enter the Transfer Portal
Jackson Caudell has been covering Georgia Tech Athletics For On SI since March 2022 and the Atlanta Hawks for On SI since October 2023. Jackson is also the co-host of the Bleav in Georgia Tech podcast and he loves to bring thoughtful analysis and comprehensive coverage to everything that he does. Find him on X @jacksoncaudell
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