The ACC had three teams playing in four bowl games Wednesday, but once all was said and done, the Power 5 Conference had dropped two of their three bowls. The day started out positively with Virginia Tech showing up big against the American Athletic Conference in the Military Bowl. Once the ACC started playing other Power 5 Conferences, the conference started to struggle mightily.
ACC Bowls – Military Bowl: Virginia Tech 41 | Tulane 20
One year after being the only Group of 5 team to reach the New Years Six and upsetting USC in the Cotton Bowl, Tulane found themselves in the Military Bowl at 11-2. Tulane took on Virginia Tech at the Naval Academy in Maryland. Kyron Drones drove the Hokies down the field with both his arm and his legs. The Virginia Tech QB rushed 20 times for 176 yards and a touchdown. He also completed 13 of 21 passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns. Byashul Tuten added 18 rushes for 136 yards and two touchdowns as Virginia Tech ran up and down the field on Tulane for the 41-20 victory.
ACC Bowls – Duke’s Mayo Bowl: West Virginia 30 | North Carolina 10
After Virginia Tech’s win, North Carolina tried to give the ACC another bowl win in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl against West Virginia. The Mountaineers came out firing converting a 75 yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage. It was all down hill from there for the Tar Heels. West Virginia QB Garrett Greene only completed 12 of 24 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown. Jahiem White rushed the ball 12 times for 50 yards and a touchdown for the Mountaineers. And Beanie Bishop Jr. returned a punt for a TD as West Virginia crushed North Carolina 30-10 handing the ACC its first bowl loss of the day.
ACC Bowls – Holiday Bowl: USC 42 | Louisville 28
The ACC wrapped up the night taking on the PAC-12 in the Holiday Bowl. USC QB Miller Moss set a Holiday Bowl record as he tossed six touchdown passes to lead the Trojans to the 42-28 victory. Amazingly, Louisville QB Jack Plummer was more accurate than Moss on the night. Plummer completed 84% of his passes to Moss’s 70%. But Moss made more big plays as the Trojans cruised to victory over the Cardinals.
Non-ACC Bowl – Texas Bowl: Oklahoma St. 31 | Texas A&M 23
In the only bowl game to not feature an ACC team, Oklahoma State’s offense ran wild against Texas A&M in the TaxAct Texas Bowl. Alan Bowman completed 34 of 49 passes for 402 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions which helped keep the Aggies in the game. Two Cowboys RBs also rushed for two more touchdowns as the Big 12 handed the SEC its first bowl loss in its first bowl game. It was a great ending for Oklahoma St. who finished the season with ten wins. While Texas A&M continued its disappointing season that led to head coach Jimbo Fisher getting fired in the middle of the season.
Conference Bowl Records (Must Field 3 Teams Through Entire Bowl Season)
- Big 10 (2-0)
- Big 12 (4-1)
- American (2-1)
- ACC (3-3)
- C-USA (2-2)
- PAC-12 (2-2)
- Sun Belt (5-7)
- MAC (2-3)
- Mountain West (2-4)
- SEC (0-1)
Next Bowl Matchups
Baseball stadiums take center stage as Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium both host bowl games. Boston College faces SMU in the Fenway Bowl while Rutgers take on Miami in the Pinstripe Bowl. And the ACC plays in its third bowl game of the day when North Carolina St. squares off with Kansas St. in the Pop Tarts Bowl. And the Big 12 and PAC-12 wrap up the day as Oklahoma faces Arizona in the Alamo Bowl.
Looking to write Sports Articles? Come Join us.
Follow Fantom Sports Instagram!
Read us on the Newsbreak App