Barring some sort of a disastrous collapse down the stretch, it appears Virginia Tech is going to be heading south for bowl season. I looked up bowl projections on five different sites this morning, and three of the five have the Hokies playing in the state of Florida, while the other two have Tech in Charlotte playing in the Belk Bowl. All five matchups are games against major Power 5 competition.
Here’s a look at each projection…
Bleacher Report: December 28, Russell Athletic Bowl, Orlando, vs. Oklahoma State
SB Nation: December 29, Belk Bowl, Charlotte, vs. Arkansas
Campus Insiders: December 29, Belk Bowl, Charlotte, vs. Arkansas
College Football News: December 31, Citrus Bowl, Orlando, vs. LSU
Jerry Palm: December 31, Citrus Bowl, Orlando, vs. Auburn
(Keep in mind that ESPN has not made their projections yet this week. Last week Mark Schlabach had Tech in the Russell Athletic Bowl (Orlando) against West Virginia, while Brett McMurphy had the Hokies in the Citrus Bowl (Orlando) against Auburn.)
Four of those five projections have the Hokies facing an SEC team, with the fifth coming against Oklahoma State of the Big 12. The TaxSlayer Bowl in Jacksonville is also a possibility.
For those wondering how an ACC team could sneak into the Citrus Bowl, it’s because so many Big Ten teams are likely to end up in one of the “Big 6” bowl games as of right now. For example, here’s where Jerry Palm projects the top teams in the Big Ten…
Ohio State: Peach Bowl (playoffs)
Michigan: Rose Bowl (Big 6)
Penn State: Cotton Bowl (Big 6)
Wisconsin: Orange Bowl (Big 6)
With so many Big Ten teams being put into the “Big 6” by the Selection Committee, the ACC’s opponent in the Orange Bowl will most likely be a Big Ten team. That would open up a spot in the Citrus Bowl for an ACC team. With Clemson and Louisville both likely headed to one of the “Big 6” bowls, Virginia Tech, North Carolina and perhaps Florida State are the most likely teams to head to the Citrus Bowl.
There is no consensus on who the Citrus Bowl would select at this point in time.
SB Nation: Florida State
Jerry Palm: Virginia Tech
College Football News: Virginia Tech
Campus Insiders: Nebraska
Bleacher Report: Florida State
The fact that at least three Big Ten teams, and perhaps as many as four, are heading to the “Big Six” could potentially send the Hokies to Orlando, though they obviously have some competition.
Of course, the Hokies also control their own destiny in the ACC. If they defeat Georgia Tech and UVA, they will face Clemson in the ACC Championship Game, and an upset victory in that game would send Tech to the Orange Bowl. There’s a lot of football left to be played.
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Believe the Orange doesn’t have a choice, as you may be alluding, they are required to take the highest ranked (by the committee) B1G, SEC, or (stop laughing, I’ll wait…) ND after other contracts (Rose, Sugar) are filled. If the B1G has the 5th and 6th ranked teams, number 6 is contractually obligated to the Orange.
I just think any of those projected opponents would kick our butt. Hate to say…
That’s the spirit!!
Maybe in their current state (walking wounded).
If VT is healthy then I think they’ve got a chance against any of those opponents.
have to agree if VT played them one week after UVA. With a month off to heal I think could give all but LSU a run
Nice- showing a lot of confidence there!
We’d do fine against all, better against LSU and Oklahoma State. I think Arkansas would be alright
I guess in the slimmest of chances, there is no way we play in Atlanta on Dec 31 if we beat Clem on Dec 3??
Perhaps I am alone, but I am not impressed with the Big 10 such that they should have 4 teams in the Big 6 bowl games.
Oklahoma State is not in the Big 10.
LOL – beat you to it with a similar comment below by 4 minutes!
lol Michigan is going to beat OSU. Can’t wait.
Assuming we beat GT and UVA (likely) and lose the ACCCG to Clemson (also likely, though Clemson isn’t unbeatable, see NCSU game), I’d prefer the Belk Bowl. Five reasons:
1) It’s a bowl we’ve never played in before
2) It’s vs team (Arkansas) we’ve never played before
3) It’s not a repeat trip to Charlotte, since the ACC title game got moved to Florida
4) It’s a close drive for tons of Tech fans; we’d likely outnumber the opponent’s fans
5) Dec 29 is a Thursday. Perfect game day during the holiday week, easy to plan for a round trip.
That matchup would draw huge interest from the Hokie Nation, IMHO.
Since we are asking for preferences, I would prefer Orlando. I would be able to take my entire family…will be there watching my son play the Disney Classic Showcase anyway. Mickey Mouse and watching VT play would be icing.
Thinking we’d end up in an Orlando bowl, be funny if we played the ACCCG in Orlando and (Belk) bowl in Charlotte… instead of playing ACCCG in Charlotte and then a bowl in Orlando.
Yes would love to go to Charlotte, FLA is nice but with extended family it is always hard to make a trip to Fla. Been twice recently, Orange when we played Stanford and Russell when we played Rutgers. Belk vs ARk would be a good bowl game.
Last I checked, Oklahoma State is in the Big 12, not the Big 10, as stated in your article above.