Seven ACC teams in bowl play this weekend

by Press Release - Dec 26, 2024, 9:01 AM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Seven Atlantic Coast Conference football teams will be in action this weekend, December 26-28, culminating with four bowl games on Saturday, December 28.

The ACC had a league record of 13 teams reaching bowl eligibility this season, tied for the most of any conference.

Thursday, Dec. 26, 2 p.m. ET

GameAbove Sports Bowl; Detroit, Mich.

Pitt (7-5) vs. Toledo (7-5)

Series: Pitt leads series, 2-1

Last Meeting: Pitt, 45-3 (2006)

ESPN: Matt Schumacker (play-by-play), Dustin Fox (analyst), Harry Lyles Jr. (sideline)

School Radio Feed: Pitt

SiriusXM Radio: SiriusXM 84 / SiriusXM 371

SiriusXM App: SiriusXM 84 / SiriusXM 371

Pitt will head to Detroit, Michigan, to face Toledo in the GameAbove Sports Bowl on Thursday, December 26. The game will be played at Ford Field, home of the NFL’s Detroit Lions. This will be the fourth all-time meeting between the Panthers and Rockets, while the GameAbove Sports Bowl marks the first postseason encounter between the schools.

The Panthers are 2-0 all-time in Detroit-hosted bowl games, most recently defeating Eastern Michigan, 34-30, in 2019. Pitt also played at Ford Field in 2013 and scored a 30-27 win over Bowling Green. Pitt is making its first bowl appearance since 2022 when the Panthers defeated No. 18 UCLA in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.

Pitt’s defense has been its calling card all season long once again this year, as the Panthers have accounted for four defensive touchdowns, which is tied for fifth nationally. The defense also ranks third nationally in sacks per game (3.33) and fourth in tackles-for-loss per game (8.3). The Panthers also rank in the top 25 nationally in punt return defense (4.75 yards per return), red zone defense (.775) and rushing defense (115.5 yards per game).

Toledo went 7-5 overall and 4-4 in Mid-American Conference (MAC) play this season in the 10th season under head coach Jason Candle. The Rockets will be playing in their eighth bowl game under Candle and 22nd overall, with a 12-9 all-time bowl record. Toledo has played in three bowl games in Detroit and another in nearby Pontiac, Michigan. The Rockets played in the Motor City Bowl at the Pontiac Silverdome in 2001, while also participating in the same bowl at Ford Field in 2002 and 2004. Their last bowl trip to Detroit came in 2010 in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.

Friday, Dec. 27, 3:30 p.m. ET

Birmingham Bowl; Birmingham, Ala.

Georgia Tech (7-5) vs. Vanderbilt (6-6)

Series: Georgia Tech leads series, 20-15-3

Last Meeting: Georgia Tech, 38-7 (2016)

ESPN: Dave Neal (play-by-play), Aaron Murray (analyst), Ashley ShahAhmadi (sideline)

School Radio Feed: Georgia Tech

SiriusXM Radio: SiriusXM 84 / SiriusXM 371 / SiriusXM 374

SiriusXM App: SiriusXM 84 / SiriusXM 371 / SiriusXM 374

Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt will renew a long-standing rivalry at the 2024 Birmingham Bowl on Friday, December 27, at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama. It will be the first meeting between the two schools in postseason play.

Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt were conference foes for 48 years – in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1916-21), Southern Conference (1922-32) and Southeastern Conference (1933-63). Their rivalry spawned a traveling trophy – a cowbell – which has been awarded to the winning team since 1924. Tech has had possession of the bell since its 13-0 win over Vandy in 1948. The Yellow Jackets have not lost to the Commodores since the 1941 season, posting a 12-0-1 record over the past 83 years against the former conference foe. The Yellow Jackets and Commodores have squared off 38 times, most recently in 2016, with Georgia Tech holding a 20-15-3 advantage in the all-time series.

Georgia Tech is bowl-bound for the 47th time in program history, boasting a 26-20 record in previous bowl appearances. Last season, in its first bowl appearance since 2018, Georgia Tech defeated UCF, 30-17, in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa, Florida. The Yellow Jackets’ 26 bowl victories are tied for 11th-most all-time, while the .565 winning percentage also ranks 11th among teams with a minimum of 15 bowl wins.

Vanderbilt is in the postseason for just the 10th time in program history and the first time since 2018 when it dropped a 45-38 decision to Baylor in the Texas Bowl. The Commodores are looking for their first postseason victory since the 2013 campaign when Jordan Matthews earned MVP honors in a then-BBVA Compass Bowl, now Birmingham Bowl, win over Houston. Vanderbilt went 6-6 overall on the regular season, which included a season-opening 34-27 overtime win over the ACC’s Virginia Tech on August 31 in Nashville, Tennessee, and a 40-35 victory over then-No. 1 Alabama at home on October 5.

Friday, Dec. 27, 8 p.m. ET

DIRECTV Holiday Bowl; San Diego, Calif.

#21 Syracuse (9-3) vs. Washington State (8-4)

Series: Syracuse leads series, 1-0

Last Meeting: Syracuse, 52-25 (1979)

FOX: Gus Johnson (play-by-play), Joel Klatt (analyst), Jenny Taft (sideline)

School Radio Feed: Syracuse

SiriusXM Radio: SiriusXM 83 / SiriusXM 371

SiriusXM App: SiriusXM 83 / SiriusXM 371

No. 21 Syracuse (9-3, 5-3 ACC), who moved up one spot in the final CFP rankings to mark the second consecutive week that the Orange were in the top 25, will play Washington State (8-4, 0-1 Pac-12) in the DIRECTV Holiday Bowl on Friday, December 27, at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California.

The Orange are headed to a bowl game for the third consecutive season and the first under first-year head coach Fran Brown. Syracuse is 16-11-1 overall in its previous 28 bowl appearances, including six wins in their last nine bowl games.

Syracuse was led all season long by the leading passer in FBS football, quarterback Kyle McCord. McCord, who finished in the top 10 of the Heisman Trophy voting, led the nation in passing, with 4,326 yards, setting a new program record for single-season passing yards. He also set new school records for touchdown passes (29) and completions (367). His 367 completions rank first in the nation this season and are just 21 off the ACC single-season record of 388 held by Matt Ryan in 2007 and Deshaun Watson in 2016.

Washington State enters the Holiday Bowl with an 8-4 record, the Cougars’ most wins since 2018 and are playing in their eighth bowl in the last nine full seasons. The Cougars own the nation's No. 12 scoring offense (36.8) while the defense is No. 16 in the country with 22 takeaways. Wide receiver Kyle Williams ranks second nationally with 13 receiving touchdowns.

However, the Cougars will be without their head coach, Jake Dickert, who was hired by Wake Forest earlier this month, as well as starting quarterback John Mateer who transferred to Oklahoma. In fact, the Cougars will head to the Holiday Bowl without nine full-time starters, plus key rotational players on defense due to the transfer portal.

Washington State is making its fifth appearance in the Holiday Bowl, the most among the program's 19 bowl appearances. WSU is 8-10 all-time in bowl games with the last win coming in 2018, a 28-26 victory over Iowa State at the Alamo Bowl.

Syracuse is 1-0 all-time versus Washington State, defeating the Cougars 52-25 in 1979. That game was played at then-Rich Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, as the JMA Wireless Dome was being constructed.

Saturday, Dec. 28, 11 a.m. ET

Wasabi Fenway Bowl; Boston, Mass.

North Carolina (6-6) vs. UConn (8-4)

Series: North Carolina leads series, 3-0

Last Meeting: North Carolina, 12-10 (2009)

ESPN: Chris Cotter (play-by-play), Mark Herzlich (analyst), Coley Harvey (sideline)

School Radio Feed: North Carolina

SiriusXM Radio: SiriusXM 81

SiriusXM App: SiriusXM 81

North Carolina will be playing in a bowl game for the sixth consecutive season when it takes on the UConn Huskies in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl at Fenway Park, home of MLB’s Boston Red Sox, in Boston, Massachusetts, on Saturday, December 28. It will mark the fourth meeting between the two teams, as North Carolina is 3-0 versus UConn with the last contest coming back in 2009.

The Tar Heels will be playing in a bowl game for the 39th time in program history. Overall, North Carolina owns a 15-23 all-time record in bowl appearances.

Interim head coach Freddie Kitchens will lead the Tar Heels, which have had a very unconventional season in 2024. North Carolina started the season at 3-0 before losing four consecutive games to fall to 3-4 on the year. The Tar Heels then bounced back with three straight wins to improve to 6-4 overall, only to drop their final two games to end the regular season at 6-6. Kitchens previously served as the head coach of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns in 2019.

It was announced ahead of the final game of the 2024 regular season that Mack Brown would not return in 2025. On December 11, North Carolina named eight-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick head coach.

The UConn Huskies, who are back in the postseason for the second time in three years, posted an 8-4 record this season, marking the best regular season for the program since 2010 while also securing the first winning season since that campaign.

The Huskies are 3-4 in their previous seven bowl appearances. This will be UConn's second time playing at historic Fenway Park. The Huskies took on Boston College as part of the Fenway Gridiron Series on November 18, 2017, falling to the Eagles, 39-16.

Saturday, Dec. 28, Noon ET

Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl; Bronx, N.Y.

Boston College (7-5) vs. Nebraska (6-6)

Series: First-ever meeting

ABC: Mike Monaco (play-by-play), Kirk Morrison (analyst), Dawn Davenport (sideline)

School Radio Feed: Boston College

SiriusXM Radio: SiriusXM 80 / SiriusXM 84 / SiriusXM 371

SiriusXM App: SiriusXM 80 / SiriusXM 84 / SiriusXM 371

Boston College will be playing in a bowl game for the second consecutive season with a trip to the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium, home of MLB’s New York Yankees, in the Bronx, New York, on Saturday, December 28 at noon ET. The Eagles will meet the Nebraska Cornhuskers of the Big Ten for the first time in program history. It will mark Boston College’s third trip to the Pinstripe Bowl, previously facing Penn State in 2014 and Iowa in 2017.

The Eagles are 15-13 all-time in bowl games following a win over now-ACC member SMU in the 2023 Fenway Bowl. The trip to the Bronx will be Boston College’s 31st all-time bowl appearance. The Eagles hold a 2-2 record against Big Ten teams in bowl games, boasting wins over Michigan State in the 2007 Champs Sports Bowl and Maryland in the 2016 Quick Lane Bowl.

ACC Defensive Player of the Year Donovan Ezeiruaku led all of FBS football with 16.5 sacks in the regular season. His 30.0 career sacks are the second-most in Boston College history. Ezeiruaku became the third Boston College student-athlete to be named ACC Defensive Player of the Year and the first since Luke Kuechly in 2011.

Nebraska will be playing in a bowl game for the 54th time in program history, with a 26-27 all-time record. The Cornhuskers will be making their first bowl appearance since the 2016 season – a 38-24 loss in the Music City Bowl to Tennessee. Nebraska is searching for its first win in a bowl game since 2015 when it defeated UCLA 37-29 in the now-defunct Foster Farms Bowl.

The Cornhuskers went 6-6 in the regular season, including a 3-6 mark in Big Ten play. Nebraska began the season with a 5-1 record, logging wins over UTEP, Colorado, Northern Iowa, Purdue and Rutgers before dropping four consecutive contests. The Cornhuskers gained bowl eligibility with a 44-25 victory over Wisconsin on November 23.

Saturday, Dec. 28, 3:30 p.m. ET

Pop-Tarts Bowl; Orlando, Fla.

#13 Miami (10-2) vs. #18 Iowa State (10-3)

Series: First-ever meeting

ABC: Tom Hart (play-by-play), Jordan Rodgers (analyst), Cole Cubelic (sideline)

School Radio Feed: Miami

SiriusXM Radio: SiriusXM 80 / SiriusXM 84 / SiriusXM 139

SiriusXM App: SiriusXM 80 / SiriusXM 84 / SiriusXM 198

No. 13 Miami heads to Orlando, Florida, to compete against No. 18 Iowa State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl on Saturday, December 28, at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. It will be the first-ever meeting between Miami and Iowa State.

The Hurricanes are making their fifth bowl appearance in Orlando since 2009. Most recently, Miami faced Oklahoma State in the 2020 Cheez-It Bowl at Camping World Stadium.

Miami, which was ranked as high as No. 4 this season, boasts a 20-25 all-time record in bowl games. Led by Consensus All-American, Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award winner and Heisman Trophy finalist Cam Ward, the Hurricanes boasted the number one offense in all of college football in 2024. The Canes’ offense finished the regular season first in scoring offense (44.2 ppg), total offense (538.3 ypg), first downs made (327) and third-down conversion percentage (56.5 percent). They also ranked second nationally in passing offense (359.3 ypg), third in team passing efficiency (172.04), seventh in fewest tackles-for-loss allowed per game (3.67), and ninth in time of possession (32:45) and completion percentage (68.2 percent).

Tabbed the ACC Player and Offensive Player of the Year, Ward set the Miami program single-season record for passing yards and touchdowns this season. An All-ACC First-Team selection, Ward leads the nation in passing touchdowns (36) and Total QBR (88.0) and ranks second in all of FBS in passing yards (4,123), passing yards per game (343.6), total offense per game (359.9), points responsible for (254), and points responsible for per game (21.2).

Ward, who has passed for over 300 yards in 10 games this season, has thrown for 17,999 yards over his collegiate career which ranks in the top five in NCAA history. He also has recorded 155 career touchdown passes, which is tied for the NCAA Division I career record with Case Keenum (Houston).

Iowa State is 10-3 overall on the season and finished tied for first place in the Big 12 Conference before falling to Arizona State in the Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship game. The Cyclones have won 10 games for the first time in the program's 133-year history and compiled a 7-2 record in Big 12 Conference play.

It will be Iowa State's seventh bowl appearance in the last eight seasons and the 19th bowl appearance overall. Iowa State owns a 5-13 all-time record in bowl games. Ninth-year head coach Matt Campbell has the most bowl appearances among ISU head coaches, as the Cyclones head to the seventh bowl game of his tenure.

This will be ISU's third appearance in a bowl game at Camping World Stadium. The Cyclones lost to Notre Dame 33-9 in the Camping World Bowl in 2019 and more recently suffered a 20-13 defeat to Clemson at the Cheez-It Bowl in 2021.

Saturday, Dec. 28, 5:45 p.m. ET

Go Bowling Military Bowl; Annapolis, Md.

NC State (6-6) vs. East Carolina (7-5)

Series: NC State leads series, 19-13

Last Meeting: NC State, 21-20 (2022)

ESPN: Jay Alter (play-by-play), Rocky Boiman (analyst), Alex Chappell (sideline)

School Radio Feed: NC State

SiriusXM Radio: SiriusXM 83

SiriusXM App: SiriusXM 83

NC State will face off with in-state foe East Carolina in the Go Bowling Military Bowl in Annapolis, Maryland, on Saturday, December 28. The two squads have met once before in a bowl game, with NC State losing the 1992 Peach Bowl 34-37 to the Pirates. NC State is 19-13 all-time against East Carolina, including having won each of the last three meetings between the two teams.

The bowl game will mark the Wolfpack’s first-ever trip to the Military Bowl and the 36th trip to a bowl game in program history, boasting a 17-17-1 record in previous bowl games. It also marks the Wolfpack's 10th bowl in head coach Dave Doeren's 12 seasons at NC State. It will mark the second time the Wolfpack has played in Navy's home stadium, as the Pack defeated the Midshipmen, 65-19, in a 2002 road game.

NC State went 6-6 overall on the season, including a 3-1 record in non-conference play. The Wolfpack finished the season on a high note, winning three of their last five games and earning bowl eligibility with an exciting win at North Carolina - its fourth consecutive victory over the Tar Heels.

Pushed into action due to injuries, the Wolfpack found their quarterback of the future in CJ Bailey. The true freshman enters the bowl game with the eighth-best single-season completion percentage in school history at .641 - the best mark ever for a freshman. His 2,183 passing yards in 2024 ranks 20th in school history for a single season and trails only Philip Rivers (2000) for the best output by a Wolfpack freshman.

East Carolina went 7-5 overall on the season and returns to postseason play after winning four of its last five games under then-interim and now-head coach Blake Harrell. Under Harrell, the Pirates have outscored their opponents 203-140 while averaging 40.6 points and 504.0 yards of total offense per contest.

The Pirates are making their third bowl appearance in the last four years and first since defeating Coastal Carolina 53-29 in the 2022 TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl. ECU, who owns a 10-11 all-time postseason record, will also play in its fifth bowl game since 2010 and 22nd in program history when it takes on NC State.

This will be the Pirates' third appearance in the Military Bowl. East Carolina fell to Maryland, 51-20, in the 2010 game. In 2021, ECU was set to face Boston College, but the game was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols within the Eagles program.

The Wolfpack’s last opponent of 2024 will be its first opponent of 2025, as NC State’s opener next season will be in Raleigh, North Carolina, against East Carolina.

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