Ranking the ACC’s new bowl locations for 2020 and beyond

GTFLETCH

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We’ve heard bits and pieces of this news over the course of the offseason, but last week, Stadium’s Brett McMurphy reported the ACC expected (every P-5 Conf) tie-ins for 2020-25. That list includes some new tie-ins for the ACC, which will have an FBS-high 11 different bowl arrangements starting next year. David Teel shared his insider infomation and has the ACC tied to 10. Some of these locations are new, and others are old. And some are also better than others. If you disagree with my rankings, you probably have a good reason for doing so.

CFP Selection
(Thats why we play..nuff said)

1. Orange Bowl, Miami Gardens, Fla.
“Duh.” This one’s as much about the location (South Florida in the dead of winter) as it is the fact that it means we’ve probably had a pretty good season to get here.

2. Holiday Bowl, San Diego, Calif.
Selfishly, I want this game more than most fans. But the Holiday Bowl means a fun trip to San Diego — arguably the best beer city in the country — and a matchup with a Pac-12 team we don’t usually face. Without much data to prove/disprove this, I’d bet GT’s Southern California alumni base of 2700 (900 in San Diego & 1800 in LA) would come out for the game.

3. Outback Bowl, Tampa, Fla.
This one’s among the least likely, because a lot of stars need to align to make it happen: the Orange Bowl needs to be out of the semifinal rotation (two of every three years), Tech needs to be ranked pretty highly and a Big Ten team needs to get picked for the Orange Bowl as well, just to get a shot at it.

4. Camping World Bowl, Orlando, Fla.
The Camping World Bowl means GT’s had a pretty good season, and gets a trip to Florida to play a B12 team as a reward.

5. Gator Bowl, Jacksonville, Fla.
Another Florida game, this one against an SEC team. Jacksonville is an easy drive compared to other Sunshine State locales if you live in Georgia or Metro Atlanta, and it is a pretty good game that will give us a reasonable (and “name”) opponent, which a lot of folks prefer.

6. Belk Bowl, Charlotte, N.C.
I’d love the Belk Bowl. But I’m also viewing this through the realistic lens of we’re never playing here with so many nearby Tobacco Road ACC teams vying for that matchup. But here is for wishing!! It is also an easy drive from anywhere in the state of Georgia and especially Metro Atlanta!

7. Pinstripe Bowl, New York, N.Y.
Definite cold weather aside, the Pinstripe’s an easy trip for most NYC Tech Alumni (Over 3,100 mbrs), which means more Tech folks in Yankee Stadium than the Sun Bowl and it is a ACC vs BIG10 matchup.

8. Military Bowl, Annapolis, Md.
Annapolis is far from a glamorous locale, but you get a probably winnable game against an AAC opponent and a trip that’s reasonably close for a lot of Tech Alumni (over 3K in DC & 1K in Baltimore) to just drive there. Also, for those of you that want to play Navy, this is probably your best shot. The sad thing is that Georgia Tech never went bowling here when Paul Johnson was the Coach.

9. Sun Bowl, El Paso, Tex.
It’s far from easy for any Tech fan to get to El Paso, but the Sun Bowl’s one of the oldest postseason games in college football, the city’s supposed to be a lot of fun for the game, and like the Holiday Bowl, it’s the rare chance to face a Pac-12 squad. I just wish the Sun Bowl was BIG12 vs ACC.

10. Fenway Park TBD Bowl, Boston, Mass.
Another AAC opponent, but this time in a potentially much colder climate. It’s another football game at a baseball stadium. Tech Alumni (over 2K in Boston & 500,000 in Conn) will have to come out in force to represent the Gold & White! Time will tell if this is truley better then the Detroit Bowl.

11. Gasparilla Bowl, Tampa, Fla.
This game’s still in the rotation for the ACC per David Teel. As mentioned with the Outback Bowl, Tampa’s feasible enough compared to other cities. And Georgai Tech would potentially get an SEC opponent out of the deal, too.

TBD**
12. Independence Bowl, Shreveport, La.
Per David Teel this game is not in play, per McMurphy it is... Whose correct?? God I hope David Teel is correct. the Pac-12 and AAC can have Shreveport. If it is ACC vs Pac-12 that matchup which could make for an “interesting” and completely empty stadium.

Conditional tie-ins
1. Birmingham Bowl, Birmingham, AL
I am not sure why we could not have a Tie in here for our 11th bowl after the CFP and have a conditional tie in to the Independence Bowl. I would travel to the bowl game and I think it would be an easy drive for alot of Georgia Tech fans. Also the Tech Alumni in Birmingham is at 1K. It could be a SEC/AAC Bowl. I am not sure how many Georgia Tech folks would show, however I would say more than any to a Shreveport Bowl.

2. First Responder Bowl, Dallas, TX
I am not sure why we are tied to this bowl as a conditional tie-in. Surely there are other bowls we could be tied to like the New Orleans Bowl..

Better destinations equals more traveling fans. San Diego is a great Bowl although I really hate to lose Nashville, I wish we could have kept it and not had a weird tie in with the Outback Bowl. But hey no one asked me!

1. Orange (ESPN)
a. (3) Outback when Big Ten gets Orange slot. (ABC/ESPN) (2 times out of 6 years)

Top Tier
2. Holiday vs P12 (FOX)
4.Camping World vs B12 (ESPN)

Mid Tier (4-7)
5. Gator vs SEC (ESPN)
6. Belk vs SEC/B10 (ESPN)
7. PinStripe vs B10 (ESPN)
8. Military vs AAC (ESPN)

Lower Tier (8-11)
9. Sun vs P12 (CBS)
10. Boston vs AAC (ESPN)
11.Gasparilla vs. SEC/AAC (ESPN)

TBD**
12. Independence vs PAC-12/AAC (ESPN)

Conditional tie-ins
Birmingham vs. SEC/AAC (ESPN)
First Responder vs AAC (ESPN)

Link
https://watchstadium.com/news/colle...-next-six-seasons-to-be-announced-06-03-2019/

David Teel
https://www.dailypress.com/sports/dp-spt-acc-football-bowls-0608-story.html
 
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