By R.L. Bynum
Where the North Carolina team that interim coach Freddie Kitchens will lead will play in its bowl game isn’t clear, with little agreement from the online projections.
The bowl matchups will be announced next Sunday.
The only bowls projected for the Tar Heels (6–6) by more than one outlet are the Birmingham Bowl and the Gaparilla Bowl.
The Birmingham Bowl is set for Protective Stadium at noon or 3:30 on Friday, Dec. 27 (ESPN). The Sporting News has UNC facing Oklahoma in that game, while ESPN’s Mark Schlabach predicts Arkansas will be the opponent in Birmingham.
Both SEC teams finished 6–6, with the Sooners — in their first season in the SEC — going 2–6 in the league and the Razorbacks going 3–5. UNC quarterback Jacolby Criswell played last season at Arkansas.
College Football News has Carolina playing Florida in the Gasparilla Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., at 3:30 on Friday, Dec. 20 (ESPN).
The Gators (7–5) finished their regular season Saturday with a 31–11 win at Florida State. UNC won at FSU on Nov. 2 by a similar score of 35–11.
Projection Sports predicts UNC’s Gasparilla opponent will be Vanderbilt (6–6). The Commodores played one ACC team, beating Virginia Tech 34–27 in overtime in their season opener.
247 Sports projects UNC to return to the Military Bowl for the second time in five years. For the game at 5:45 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 28, at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium (ESPN) in Annapolis, Md., it predicts the Tar Heels will face Navy, which would be playing in its home stadium.
The Midshipmen take an 8–3 record into the Dec. 14 game against Army at Northwest Stadium (the home of the Washington Commanders).
ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura has UNC facing Coastal Carolina in the Cure Bowl at noon on Friday, Dec. 20, in Orlando, Fla. (ESPN).
The Chanticleers (6–6), who finished fifth in the Sun Belt Conference at 3–5, have two common opponents with UNC: They lost to Virginia 43–24 and James Madison 39–7.
Athlon Sports predicts that UNC will play Tulane (7–1) in the First Responder Bowl at 4 p.m. on Jan. 3 in the Cotton Bowl stadium in Dallas (ESPN). The Green Wave, who play at Army at 8 p.m. Friday in the American Athletic Conference championship game (ABC), are coached by Jon Sumrall, who has been mentioned as a candidate to be Carolina’s head coach.
Jerry Palm of CBS projects Carolina to play in the Boca Raton Bowl at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 18 against Connecticut even though that bowl isn’t one with an ACC tie-in. The Huskies (8–4) have two common opponents with UNC, losing at Duke 26–21 on Sept. 14 and at home to Wake Forest 23–20 on Oct. 19.
USA Today projects UNC in the GameAbove Sports Bowl in Detroit’s Ford Field at 2 p.m. Dec. 26 (ESPN) against Ohio. The Bobcats (9–3) play Miami University in the MAC championship game at noon Satuday (ESPN)
Other ACC bowl tie-ins are the Dec. 27 Holiday Bowl, three other Dec. 28 games — Fenway in Boston, Pinstripe in the Bronx and Pop-Tarts in Orlando — the Dec. 31 Sun Bowl, the Jan. 2 Gator Bowl, the Jan. 3 Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte.
ACC bowl tie-ins
UNC schedule
| Month/ date | Score/ time | Opponent |
|---|---|---|
| August | ||
| 29 | TBA | vs.TCU in Dublin, Ireland |
| September | ||
| 12 | TBA | vs. ETSU |
| 19 | TBA | at Clemson |
| October | ||
| 3 | TBA | vs. Notre Dame |
| 10 | TBA | at Pittsburgh |
| 17 | TBA | at Duke |
| 24 | TBA | vs. Syracuse |
| 31 | TBA | vs. Miami |
| November | ||
| 7 | TBA | at UConn |
| 14 | TBA | vs. Louisville |
| 21 | TBA | at Virginia |
| 28 | TBA | vs. N.C. State |
| December | ||
| 5 | noon, ABC | ACC championship game in Charlotte |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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