Wake Forest Football: End of Regular Season Bowl Update
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are going bowling — we’ve known this for a few weeks, but it’s still worth celebrating. Although the 7-5 finish was disappointing for a myriad of reasons, Demon Deacon fans can still be proud of their seventh consecutive bowl appearance. The streak is tied with UCF and Kentucky for the eleventh-longest active streak in the nation, and it’s far and away the longest streak in program history.
Now that the regular season has ended, it’s much easier to project where the Deacs will travel to for their postseason appearance. Last week, we took a look at each of the bowls that are partnered with the ACC. This week, we can narrow down those options.
READ: Takeaways from Wake Forest's 78-75 win over Wisconsin
First, let’s understand where Wake Forest falls in the pecking order. Of the nine ACC bowl-eligible teams (plus Notre Dame), Wake is last in the standings. Only Syracuse and Louisville have the same 7-5 record, but the Cardinals beat the Demon Deacons, and Syracuse boasts a much larger alumni base, one of the factors outside of football that sponsors use to determine which teams they select for their bowl game. The good news is that Wake Forest is playing a bowl game. The bad news is that, as the tenth team on the list, the bowl itself may not be one of the more prestigious bowls that Wake Forest was hoping for.
The winner of Clemson and UNC in the ACC Championship game will head to the Orange Bowl. After that, ACC teams ahead of Wake Forest will be chosen for the Gator Bowl, Duke’s Mayo Bowl, Cheez-It Bowl, Pinstripe Bowl, Holiday Bowl and Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl. Outside of the College Football Playoff and the New Year’s Six games, these are the top bowls that the ACC sends their teams.
With those destinations likely eliminated, four options are left for Wake Forest (in no particular order):
- The Fenway Bowl (Dec. 17, Boston, Massachusetts) against an American conference opponent. This bowl has never been played before (scheduled to begin in 2020, canceled due to COVID last two years)
- The Military Bowl (Dec. 28, Annapolis, Maryland) against an AAC opponent. Wake Forest has played in this bowl once, beating Temple in 2016
- The Gasparilla Bowl (Dec. 23, St. Petersburg, Florida). One of the bowls with multiple conference partnerships, the ACC last sent a team to this bowl game in 2014. Wake Forest has never played in this bowl.
- The Birmingham Bowl (Dec. 27, Birmingham, Alabama). Another one of the bowls with multiple conference partnerships. Wake Forest has played in this game once, beating Memphis in 2018.
READ: Key Stats from Wake Forest's 78-75 win over Wisconsin
Around the college football landscape, there is still no strong consensus on where Wake Forest will end up, but the Fenway Bowl does seem to be the likely choice.
Sports Illustrated- Fenway Bowl vs Houston
CBS- Gasparilla Bowl vs Buffalo
ESPN- Fenway Bowl vs UCF OR Gasparilla Bowl vs UConn
The Athletic- Fenway Bowl vs East Carolina
247Sports- Sun Bowl vs Oregon State
Yahoo Sports- Military Bowl vs East Carolina
Action Network- Military Bowl vs Cincinnati
If you’re looking to book a flight to cheer on the Deacs this winter, it looks like you’ll have to wait another week.
Personally, I’d guess Wake is headed back to the Birmingham Bowl, but I wouldn’t be shocked if they go to St. Petersburg, either.
Most importantly, Dave Clawson is 4-2 in bowl games during his time at Wake Forest. Wherever the team ends up this bowl season, the Demon Deacons will be motivated to end their season with a victory.
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