Story by
Syracuse Football: How Does ACC Bowl Picture Look Now?
- Story by
- Syracuse Football: How Does ACC Bowl Picture Look Now?
(Rich Barnes-Imagn Images)
The Syracuse Orange football team pulled off one of the biggest upsets of college football's final weekend in October with a 30-27 victory over No. 19 SMU at the JMA Wireless Dome.
The win moves the Orange's record to 4-4 and 2-4 inside Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play. With two more wins, Syracuse will become bowl-eligible for the second time in three years. But the win by Fran Brown's team had more than just immediate SU implications as well.
Advertisement
What bowl games have ACC tie-ins?
The ACC is guaranteed at least one spot in the College Football Playoff. Starting this season, the winner of the ACC Championship game clinches a spot in the 12-team tournament. It is also possible that No. 1 Miami could make the CFP even with a loss in the ACC title game.
If, for example, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons upset Miami in December's conference title game, the ACC could have two teams in the College Football Playoff. It is unlikely in the final year of the 12-team format that more than two teams would represent the conference. Outside of the playoff, the bowl games with possible ACC tie-ins include:
December 18 - Gasparilla Bowl, Tampa, Fla.
Advertisement
December 18 - Boca Raton Bowl, Boca Raton, Fla.
December 22 - Independence Bowl, Shreveport, La.
December 23 - Armed Forces Bowl, Fort Worth, Texas
December 23 - Frisco Bowl, Frisco, Texas
December 26 - Pinstripe Bowl, Bronx, N.Y.
December 26 - Fenway Bowl, Boston, Mass.
December 26 - Duke's Mayo Bowl, Charlotte, N.C.
December 28 - Military Bowl, Annapolis, Md.
December 29 - Birmingham Bowl, Birmingham, Ala.
December 29 - Pop-Tarts Bowl, Orlando, Fla.
December 29 - Alamo Bowl, San Antonio, Texas
December 30 - TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, Jacksonville, Fla.
December 31 - Old El Paso Bowl, El Paso, Texas
December 31 - Las Vegas Bowl, Las Vegas, Nev.
Advertisement
January 2 - First Responders Bowl, Dallas, Texas
What does the current bowl picture look like?
Of the 17 teams competing in the ACC, six are already bowl-eligible. Both California and Georgia Tech have six losses, but if either team wins its remaining three games, they would become bowl eligible.
Of the bowl games on the 2026 schedule, Syracuse has competed in four in the past (Gator, Pinstripe, Independence and Boca Raton) *The Pop Tarts Bowl was known as the Camping World Bowl when the Orange competed in the bowl game in 2018, and it was the Champs Sports Bowl in 2004.
What's next up for the Orange?
If Brown is able to lead Syracuse to a bowl game, he would become the first head football coach to lead the Orange to two bowl games in his first three seasons since Paul Pasqualoni in the early 1990s.
Advertisement
Syracuse will play the second leg of back-to-back home games next Saturday, as the Orange will host the Clemson Tigers. Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. ET inside the JMA Wireless Dome. The Tigers defeated Florida State last Saturday.
The remaining three games include matchups against North Carolina State, Boston College and Notre Dame.
