Wake Forest Football: Bowl Projection Update

Where will the Deacs end up playing in December?

We’re getting closer and closer to bowl season– and for the seventh season in a row, Wake Forest (7-4) will be participating. Amidst all the changing expectations for the 2022 Demon Deacons, it’s worth noting that this will only be the 17th bowl game in program history. Dave Clawson is on a pretty impressive streak.

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When I wrote this article back on Oct. 14, the Deacs were in a much different spot. Let's take a look at where different media outlets think Wake will end up playing in December:

Bowl Predictions

Sports Illustrated: Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl (New York) vs. Wisconsin (Dec. 29)

ESPN: Wasabi Fenway Bowl (Boston) vs. UCF (Dec. 17)

USA Today: Gator Bowl (Jacksonville) vs. Mississippi State (Dec. 30)

CBS Sports: Holiday Bowl (San Diego) vs. Utah (Dec. 28)

247sports: Sun Bowl (El Paso) vs. Washington (Jan. 2)

Athalon Sports: Military Bowl (Annapolis) vs. Penn State (Dec. 28)

Evidently, the destination for the Demon Deacons is unclear. Following this weekend, the dust settles and usually there is more consistency between the different sites.

Currently, there are nine ACC teams (plus Notre Dame) that are bowl-eligible. Georgia Tech (at Georgia) and Miami (vs Pitt) need a win this week to join the others. That’s 10-12 bids out of 15 total teams, an excellent example of the quality throughout the conference this season.

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Here is a list of all of the bowl games that partnered with the ACC (and Notre Dame):

Capital One Orange Bowl (Miami, FL)
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL)
Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl (El Paso, TX)
Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Charlotte, NC)
Cheez-it Bowl (Orlando, FL)
Pinstripe Bowl (New York, NY)
Holiday Bowl (San Diego, CA)
Military Bowl (Annapolis, MD)
Fenway Bowl (Boston, MA)

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Those are the nine bowls guaranteed to take an ACC team. In the predictions above, it's clear that plenty of them are real possibilities for Wake. The following bowls are options if/when there are more ACC teams that are eligible.

Gasparilla Bowl (St. Petersburg, FL)
Birmingham Bowl (Birmingham, AL)
Cotton Bowl (Arlington, TX)
Peach Bowl/Fiesta Bowl (College Football Playoff)

Clemson, North Carolina and Notre Dame will get their choice of bowl games as the teams associated with the conference with the best records. Florida State and Louisville are currently ranked in the official CFP rankings, so they will also get their pick of the postseason ahead of the Demon Deacons. That leaves Wake, NC State, Pitt, Duke and Syracuse (and possibly Miami or Georgia Tech) – it’s anyone guess where those teams will end up.

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