Dec. 6, 2009

• ACC Bowl List

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Atlantic Coast Conference Sunday announced the post season bowl pairings for its seven NCAA bowl-eligible teams. The ACC’s seven bowl-bound teams gives the conference 41 teams which have participated post-season bowl games over the past five years, which is second only the SEC, which has had 42.

The Pairings:

• FedEx Orange Bowl, Jan. 5, 8 p.m., FOX - #9 Georgia Tech (11-2) vs. #10 Iowa (10-2)
• Chick-fil-A Bowl, Dec. 31, 7:30 pm ESPN - #12 Virginia Tech (9-3) vs. Tennessee (7-5)
• Konica Minolta Gator Bowl, Jan. 1, 1 p.m., CBS - Florida State (6-6) vs. #18 West Virginia (9-3)
• Champs Sports Bowl, Dec. 29, 8 pm, ESPN - #14 Miami (9-3) vs. #24 Wisconsin (9-3)
• Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl, Dec. 27, 8:15 pm - Clemson (8-5) vs. Kentucky (7-5)
• Meineke Car Care Bowl, Dec. 26, 4:30 pm - North Carolina (8-4) vs. #17 Pittsburgh (9-3)
• Emerald Bowl, Dec. 26, 8:30 pm - Boston College (8-4) vs. Southern California (8-4)
  

Leading the way for the Conference is its champion—Georgia Tech—which earned the berth as the host team in the 2010 FedEx Orange Bowl opposite 10th-ranked Iowa (10-2) by virtue of its 39-34 dramatic victory over Clemson in the Dr Pepper ACC Football Championship Game Saturday night in Tampa. Tech, 11-2 overall and ranked 9th nationally (AP), returns to the Orange Bowl for the first time in 42 years and will be enjoying its 13th consecutive bowl trip.

Virginia Tech, ranked 12th nationally this week, will be making its fourth trip to Atlanta for a bowl game and second appearance in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. The Hokies of Coach Frank Beamer will also be making their 17th straight post-season bowl appearance. They will be facing Tennessee (7-5) of the Southeastern Conference for the first time since meeting the Volunteers in the 1994 Gator Bowl. A victory (9-3) would extend Tech’s string of 10 or more wins to six straight seasons.

Florida State, with legendary Head Coach Bobby Bowden coaching the Seminoles for the final time, will be facing 18th-ranked West Virginia. Bowden, college football’s second-winningest head coach with 388 career victories, is completing his 34th and final season in Tallahassee and will be guiding FSU to its 28th consecutive bowl game. Florida State is 5-0-1 in the Gator Bowl, including winning both previous appearances against the Mountaineers, whom they faced in 1982 and 2005.

Miami (9-3), ranked 14th nationally, will play its 10th game in the state of Florida this year, travelling to Orlando for a berth in the Champs Sports Bowl. This year, the Hurricanes have won nine games for the first time since 2005 and will be going to their 35th post-season bowl game, but their first in Orlando. The ‘Canes will be playing 24th-ranked Wisconsin (9-3) of the Big Ten.

Clemson (8-5) and its Heisman Trophy candidate C. J. Spiller will be headed to their fifth consecutive bowl game and 10th in their last 11 years at the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tenn. The game will be a rematch for the Tigers of the 2006 Music City Bowl as Clemson will again face Kentucky (7-5) of the SEC. Spiller is coming off a Heisman-like performance in the ACC title contest, earning Most Outstanding Player honors for his play against the Yellow Jackets.

North Carolina (8-4), which features a defense ranked 6th nationally in total defense and 9th in rushing defense, will be making its second straight bowl appearance and its second consecutive trip to the Meineke Car Care Bowl, this time to play the 17th-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers of the Big East. In all, UNC has played three times in the Charlotte-based bowl, facing Boston College in the 2004 Continental Tire Bowl. Coach Butch Davis’ Tar Heels

Completing the ACC in post-season play, Boston College (8-4) travels to San Francisco to face the Trojans of Southern California (8-4) of the Pac-10 in the Emerald Bowl. The game marks the 11th straight bowl trip for the Eagles and their second bowl visit to San Francisco, having appeared in the Emerald Bowl, then the Emerald Walnut Bowl in 2003. BC enters the game with the fourth-best winning percentage in bowl games (minimum of 15 played), having posted a .650 winning percentage (13-7), including winning eight of their last nine appearances.