ACC Bowl Projections for 2026
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With the start of the 2026 college football season less than 50 days away, it’s never too early to project bowl games and playoff contenders for the 17-team ACC. Miami enters as a heavy preseason favorite to win the conference, with Louisville, SMU, Clemson and Virginia Tech headlining a strong second tier of teams. Could another ACC team join the Hurricanes in the College Football Playoff? Or will this conference only get one program into the 12-team field for the second year in a row?
The ACC is lacking in top contenders outside of Miami for a deep run in the playoff, but the conference should have double-digit teams in a bowl game. And that list could get even deeper if Florida State improves in a critical season for coach Mike Norvell or North Carolina shows massive improvement in coach Bill Belichick‘s second year.
With fall practice just around the corner, where do ACC teams stack up in bowl projections for ’26? Athlon Sports projects ACC teams and bowls for this fall:
ACC ’26 Preview: Predictions | All-Conference Team | 138 Rankings
Coach Rankings | All-America Team | Bowl Projections
ACC Bowl Projections for 2026
Athlon Sports released its complete preseason bowl projections earlier this offseason, so let’s take a look at how the predictions stack up for where ACC teams will spend their postseason:
The Order of Selections for 2026
1. College Football Playoff
Note: Due to conference expansion, former Pac-12 teams will be selected for bowls previously tied to the league. This includes Alamo, Holiday, Las Vegas, Poinsettia and Sun Bowls.
Pop-Tarts
Duke’s Mayo
Gator
Holiday
Sun
Gasparilla
Pinstripe
Military
Birmingham
Fenway
Related: ACC Coach Rankings for 2026
The Projections for 2026-27
College Football Playoff
The 12-team CFB Playoff field features five automatic bids to conference champions and seven at-large selections. The four champs from power conferences are guaranteed a spot. Also, the selection committee’s top four teams will receive a first-round bye.
ACC Teams Projected: Miami (No. 7 seed)
Numbers indicate projected seed by preseason projections
Quarterfinals
Peach Bowl (Jan. 1) – No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 7 Miami
ACC ’26 Preview: Predictions | All-Conference Team | 138 Rankings
Coach Rankings | All-America Team | Bowl Projections
Pinstripe Bowl: ACC vs. Big Ten (Dec. 26)
Projection: Pitt vs. Minnesota
Fenway Bowl: ACC vs. American (Dec. 26)
Projection: NC State vs. Army
Duke’s Mayo Bowl: ACC vs. Big Ten (Dec. 26)
Projection: Virginia Tech vs. Iowa
Military Bowl: ACC vs. American (Dec. 28)
Projection: Wake Forest vs. Navy
Birmingham Bowl: SEC/ACC/American (Dec. 29)
Projection: Memphis vs. Georgia Tech
Pop-Tarts: ACC vs. Big 12 (Dec. 29)
Projection: Louisville vs. Houston
Gator Bowl: ACC vs. SEC (Dec. 30)
Projection: SMU vs. Alabama
Sun Bowl: ACC vs. Pac-12 (Dec. 31)
Projection: Virginia vs. Utah
Holiday Bowl: ACC vs. Pac-12 (TBD)
Projection: Clemson vs. Washington
Poinsettia Bowl: New Pac-12 Team vs. Former Pac-12 team (TBD)
Projection: San Diego State vs. California
*Due to conference realignment, former Pac-12 teams will play in bowl games assigned to that league in ’26.
Related: Ranking the ACC’s College Football Coaches for 2026
Related: ACC Football 2026 Predictions
Related: ACC Football 2026 All-Conference Team
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Jul 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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