National outlet bowl projections feature two ACC teams in Playoff

The Action Network's Brett McMuphy has Miami and Virginia Tech making the new 12-team Playoff, while Clemson is relegated to the Pop-Tarts Bowl.

Brandon Rink · Assoc. Editor / Staff Writer · Monday, August 19 2024

One college football insider's bowl projection features two ACC teams in the College Football Playoff, but no return for the Clemson Tigers -- or the Florida State Seminoles -- to that tier.

Brett McMurphy at the Action Network did his Week Zero bowl projections, which send Clemson to Orlando for the second-tier Pop-Tarts Bowl.

McMurphy matches Dabo Swinney's Tigers with his own alma mater, Oklahoma State, which would be a first-ever meeting for the programs.

While that's been a common pick this offseason, the other ACC prognostications are a bit further from the norm.

Preseason media favorite Florida State is pegged for the Gator Bowl, while instate rival Miami is his picked ACC champ for a bye in the College Football Playoff.

He then has Virginia Tech earning an at-large bid as a 10-seed and a trip to Ole Miss, where the gambling-themed site says the Hokies would be a 13-point underdog.

McMurphy picks Miami then to host Georgia in the CFP quarterfinal Sugar Bowl as a 13-point underdog.

The projected final is Georgia as a 4-point favorite over Oregon in a 17-game campaign thanks to Alabama being the SEC champ.

Clemson is seeking its first Playoff bid since 2020 and the most direct path to that is a win in the ACC Championship game for an automatic bid in the 12-team field (five highest-ranked conference champs/seven at-larges). FSU last made the field in the first CFP in 2014.

The Tigers are a 13.5-point underdog in the Aug. 31 opener in Atlanta versus No. 1 Georgia (noon/ABC).