Virginia Tech is on the verge of bowl eligibility for the second-straight season after improving to 5-3 with a 21-6 victory over Georgia Tech. The Hokies will be favored in three of their four remaining games and are likely to be considered one of the premium ACC bowl picks this year given their combination of brand power and league success.
So with that in mind, let's walk through the latest bowl projections for the Hokies entering Week 10.
- ESPN's Mark Schlabach: Gator Bowl vs Tennessee
- ESPN's Kyle Bonagura: Pinstripe Bowl vs Minnesota
- CBS Sports: Fenway Bowl vs South Florida
- 247 Sports: Sun Bowl vs USC
Now the ACC may no longer have their tiered ranking system for bowl games, but there is no doubt that bowls like the Gator Bowl and the Duke's Mayo Bowl have the ability to get stronger ACC options than games like the Military Bowl and the Fenway Bowl.
The fact that there isn't any overlap in these bowl projections shouldn't come as a surprise given how much variability is in play currently, especially with the strong possibility but not guarantee of the ACC getting multiple teams in the CFB Playoff.
If the Hokies finish 8-4 or 9-3, I would expect that Tech would end up in one of the ACC's premium bowl options. Here's a rundown of the bowls that I would put in that category.
- Pop-Tarts Bowl (Orlando, FL)
- Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL)
- Duke's Mayo Bowl (Charlotte, NC)
- Holiday Bowl (San Diego, CA)
- Sun Bowl (El Paso, TX)
The Pinstripe Bowl has risen in prominence but probably falls at the top of the list for the next tier of bowl games. The Pop-Tarts Bowl also tends to get the top ACC pick and if Miami and Clemson were to both reach the Playoff, then VT could be the choice given their bigger brand compared to other top candidates like SMU and Pittsburgh who would have better records.
In general though, I would currently lean towards Virginia Tech ending up in one of those bowl games. The fact that SMU is trending towards being involved in these upper tier of picks could mean that the Hokies are more likely to land with an East Coast bowl. Even if they end up heading west, San Diego seems more likely than El Paso, especially with SMU in play as an option for the Sun Bowl this year.
After colder weather destinations for Tech's past two bowl trips, Hokie fans are likely to be rewarded with a warmer weather trip to end this season. Of course, that's not counting the fact that Tech is still very much alive in the ACC title hunt, even if their margin for error is zero, they have to win their last four games, and they will almost certainly need tiebreakers to go their way for them to reach Charlotte.
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