Syracuse (9-3, 6-2 ACC) routed Boston College (7-5, 4-4) 42-21, on Saturday and moved up one spot in the rankings to No. 18 in both the AP Top 25 and the ESPN/USA Today Coach’s Polls. Syracuse was No. 20 in the last College Football Playoff rankings, with the updated version to be released on Tuesday evening.
Here’s where some of the major media outlets stand on Syracuse after week 13:
- Sports Illustrated: Sun Bowl vs. California.
- SB Nation: Camping World Bowl vs. West Virginia.
- Bleacher Report: Camping World Bowl vs. West Virginia.
- CBS Sports: Camping World Bowl vs. West Virginia.
- ESPN: Camping World Bowl vs. Iowa State (Sherman)/West Virginia (Bonagura)
- College Football News: Camping World Bowl vs. West Virginia.
With the exception of Sports Illustrated’s prediction of Syracuse heading to the Sun Bowl, the major media outlets have settled in on the Camping World Bowl as the likely destination for the Orange.
The Camping World Bowl matchup is between the Big 12 and ACC. Ater the CFP and New Year Six games are picked, the Alamo Bowl gets the first pick among Big 12 teams, and then the Camping World Bowl takes the No. 2 spot.
Oklahoma is currently atop the Big 12 standings and with No. 4 Michigan losing, has a legitimate case to take the fourth and final CFP spot. The three teams and likely SU opponents after that include Texas, Iowa State and West Virginia.
The Mountaineers seem to be the popular pick among the major outlets, with CBS Sports and SB Nation upgrading its bowl projections for SU from the Pinstripe to Camping, and an updated opponent from Iowa State to West Virginia. That would be a rematch of the 2012 Pinstripe Bowl, when then-head coach Doug Marrone led the Orange to a convincing 38-14 win.
» Related: Syracuse football has already exceeded expectations
The Juice Online Bowl Game Predictions for every bowl eligible ACC team: There are three ACC football games left to be played Saturday before the bowl season gets underway December 15. Clemson will be heavily favored to beat Pittsburgh in the league championship game at Charlotte, and North Carolina State and Virginia Tech have makeup games delayed from September’s Hurricane Florence.
In the case of Virginia Tech, it needs to beat Marshall at home to become bowl eligible at 6-6. N.C. State hosts East Carolina seeking to finish 9-3, the same as Syracuse, with the Orange having the better conference record and winning the head-to-head meeting in the Dome in October.
If the Hokies qualify, 11 of the 14 ACC teams will play in bowls (Florida State, Louisville, and North Carolina will not), and the only major chaos would occur if Clemson were to somehow fall to Pittsburgh, against a Pitt team coming off a dud of a performance in its 24-3 season ending loss at Miami.
In the case of Syracuse, it has the second-best record in the league behind Clemson, but that does not necessarily mean the Camping World Bowl has to select the Orange, as opposed to let’s say, N.C. State or Georgia Tech. We, however, think they will choose Syracuse, and pit the ‘Cuse against either Iowa State or West Virginia in Orlando on Friday, Dec. 28 (5:15 p.m. ET / ESPN).
Our projected ACC bowl lineup:
- Clemson-Orange Bowl National Semifinals
- Syracuse-Camping World Bowl vs. Iowa State/West Virginia
- Georgia Tech-Belk Bowl
- Pittsburgh-Pinstripe Bowl
- Virginia-Sun Bowl
- North Carolina State-Music City Bowl
- Boston College-Military Bowl
- Duke-Independence Bowl
- Miami-Heart of Dallas Bowl
- Wake Forest-Quick Lane Bowl
- Virginia Tech-Gasparilla Bowl
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