Pool 1 Bowls include the Sun, Pinstripe, Belk, and Music City/TaxSlayer Bowls (in no order). Notre Dame can replace any ACC team in the Russell Athletic Bowl, Pool 1, or lower provided the Irish are not more than two games behind the team they’d replace. Should the ACC place a team in the Playoff, the 2nd highest ranked ACC team would automatically be placed in a New Years Six Bowl, likely the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl. Rankings are determined by the CFP Committee.
CORRECTION:
SportsChannel8 was contacted by an associate commissioner for the ACC requesting a correction to our bowl projections. No … the league did not request for NC State to be removed from the projections or for UNC to be moved ahead of Duke, but we won’t say that didn’t cross our mind when we received the email.
From the ACC:
This year, because our contract bowl – the Capital One Orange Bowl – is a semifinal site, only our champion is guaranteed a spot in the New Year’s Six. If our champion is in the CFP, our next team could qualify for the New Year’s Six if it is top 12, but it is not guaranteed this year. There are only three at-large berths in the New Year’s Six this year, so the second ACC team would have to be ranked 5th, 6th, or 7th to guarantee a berth, but would qualify for selection if ranked in the Top 12. The only two possibilities in the New Year’s Six are the Peach and the Fiesta.
Based on the above clarification, we are not adjusting our projections for this week as we feel that Florida State will be ranked in the top 12 and will be selected by a NY6 bowl, and our graphics vendor is expensive.
