The ACC finished this years bowl schedule 5-5 as Boston College was unable to play their game due to a cancellation. Overall a solid record for a down year by the ACC compared to the past few years. Clemson was their lone representative in a NY6 bowl and the Tigers continued to carry the conference this season. It seemed to be really good or really bad for each team as most of them had big wins or big losses. Below are our rankings of each team in their bowl game.
11. Miami Some say this game was the final push that Mark Richt needed to retire and I don’t argue that. The offense was bad, the defense was bad and the special teams was bad. Heading into this game the Hurricanes were a favorite over an underachieving Wisconsin team but they made the Badgers look like a top ten team as they pounded them 35-3 in NYC. 10. NC State Another disappointing end to the season for another ACC team as a good season for the Wolfpack will be overshadowed by a blow out loss to the Texas A&M Aggies. The Wolfpack defense was way outmatched in this one and gave up 541 yards and 52 points in the Gator Bowl loss. 9. Georgia Tech A disappointing end to Paul Johnson’s career in Atlanta as the Yellow Jackets we’re dominated by the Minnesota Golden Gophers. It was really in control by the Golden Gophers the entire game as they got out to a 13-3 halftime lead before running away with it in the second half. 8. Pitt This was a great game if you’re a fan of defense but the Pitt offense continued to struggle as they lose 14-13 to Stanford. Overall a solid season still for the Panthers compared to their last few season as they finish at 7-7. 7. Virginia Tech It really wasn’t a bad loss by the Hokies. Unfortunately they finish the season 6-7 but a 4 point loss to an 11 win Cincy team isn’t anything to be embarrassed about. The Hokies in my opinion played better than I expected and better than I think most people did as they held a lead until the final minute and a half before Cincy went up for good. 6. Boston College Well... they didn’t win, and they didn’t lose so we’ll stick them here. An unfortunate turn of events cancelled the first responders bowl and left Boston College and Boise State hanging. 5. Wake Forest In a bowl season of blow outs Wake Forest was a part of one of the most exciting bowl games this year as they defeated Memphis 37-34 on a missed field goal attempt by the Tigers as time expires. The wake offense continued where they left off to close the regular season and the defense played well for most of the game against a high powered Memphis offense. 4. Virginia A great end to a great season from the Cavaliers as they finish out 8-5 after their win over South Carolina. Virginia was able to take advantage of a struggling South Carolina team and had a rare bowl shut out beating the Gamecocks 28-0. 3. Syracuse A 17-0 4th quarter led the Orange to a 34-18 win over West Virginia. It really was one of the better games through three quarters when WVU held an 18-17 lead but a few quick scores in the 4th quarter led the Orange to a big win over a quality Big 12 team! 2. Duke Duke was down 27-14 to Temple late in the second quarter and things appeared as if the Blue Devils were going to get blown out then all of the sudden Duke scored 42 unanswered points including a shut out of the Owls in the second half on their way to a big bowl win defeating Temple 56-27 in the Independence bowl. 1. Clemson
Clemson looked really good against Notre Dame. Say what you want about the Irish being overrated or not, they are still a very good team and Clemson played a near perfect game. The Tigers have a real big test this Monday as they go for their second national title in three seasons.