By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina’s 31–30 overtime loss to Syracuse on Saturday left the Tar Heels two victories short of bowl eligibility, but seven postseason projections still have them headed to four possible bowls, with six potential opponents.
The Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte and Military Bowl in Annapolis, Md., are the most frequently projected destinations for UNC (4–3, 2–2 ACC).
In the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on Dec. 26 at Bank of America Stadium (3:30 p.m., ABC), ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford project the Tar Heels to face No. 20 Northwestern (6–1, 3–1 Big Ten), while Pete Fiutak of College Football News predicts Minnesota (5–2, 3–1).
Northwestern has won four consecutive games since its only loss, 29–23 at Indiana on Sept. 25. The Wildcats have been one of the Big Ten’s surprises, beating Penn State 34–13, winning 24–21 at Michigan State and routing Rutgers 42–14 on Saturday. Northwestern also beat Colorado 41–7 and has scored at least 34 points in five of its seven games. Its November schedule includes road games against Oregon and Ohio State.
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Minnesota strengthened its bowl credentials Saturday with a 13–10 home victory over then-No. 15 Iowa on a 46-yard field goal as time expired. The Golden Gophers also have beaten Washington 27–24 on the road and Michigan 20–14, but their season has been uneven. They lost 38–13 at home to Mississippi State and 41–13 at Purdue. Minnesota has won three of its four Big Ten games, with No. 4 Indiana, No. 7 UCLA, Penn State, Northwestern and No. 25 Wisconsin remaining on its schedule.
Crawford wrote that UNC is “flirting with disaster” in its pursuit of bowl eligibility after the Syracuse loss, although he suggested remaining games against UConn and N.C. State should provide the two victories the Tar Heels need.
Two outlets project Carolina for the Military Bowl on Dec. 28 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (2 p.m., ESPN), although they disagree on the opponent.
On3’s Brett McMurphy pairs the Tar Heels with UTSA (7–1, 4–0 American), while Athlon Sports’ Steven Lassan has them facing South Florida (5–2, 1–2). Lassan also projected UNC for the Military Bowl last week, but against Navy, which plays its home games at the stadium.
UTSA has won five consecutive games since a 30–6 loss at then-No. 1 Texas on Sept. 19. The Roadrunners are unbeaten in conference play, with victories over Rice (16–14), South Florida (31–24), Navy (38–34) and Tulane (42–19). Saturday’s 23-point victory at Tulane was their most decisive conference win after three close games. UTSA also scored 59 points in a nonconference victory over Colorado State.
South Florida opened with four consecutive victories before losing its first two American Conference games, 17–13 at home to Temple and 31–24 at UTSA. The Bulls rebounded with a 29–2 victory over Kent State on Oct. 17. Their early wins included a 28–24 victory at Army and a 14–6 decision at Bowling Green, but the conference losses have complicated their championship hopes. South Florida needs one more victory to become bowl eligible, with five league games remaining.
ESPN’s other forecaster, Kyle Bonagura, has UNC heading to the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in New York on Dec. 26 (noon, ABC) to face Iowa (5–2, 2–2 Big Ten). Last week, Bonagura projected the Tar Heels to face Wisconsin in the same bowl.
Iowa opened 4–0, including a 20–19 victory at Michigan, before losing 31–14 to Ohio State. The Hawkeyes responded with a 41–24 victory at Washington but fell 13–10 at Minnesota on Saturday despite outgaining the Golden Gophers 288–209. Iowa’s defense has allowed only 14.3 points per game and held four opponents to 13 or fewer, including shutouts of Northern Illinois and Northern Iowa. Its offense, however, struggled against Minnesota.
The outlier is Sports Illustrated’s Bryan Fischer, who projects UNC for the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, on Dec. 31 (2 p.m., CBS) against No. 22 Arizona (6–1, 3–1 Big 12). Before the Syracuse loss, Fischer had the Tar Heels facing Penn State in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
Arizona has won five consecutive games since a 28–17 loss at No. 8 BYU on Sept. 12 and already has secured bowl eligibility. The Wildcats have emerged as Big 12 contenders, with their winning streak putting them in position to challenge for a berth in the conference championship game. Arizona is unbeaten in four home games and 2–1 on the road.
| Month/ date | Score/ time | Opponent (current ranking) | Record/TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| August | |||
| 29 | W, 15–10 | vs.TCU in Dublin | 1–0 |
| September | |||
| 12 | W, 35–3 | vs. ETSU | 2–0 |
| 19 | L, 28–20 | at Clemson | 2–1, 0–1 ACC |
| October | |||
| 3 | L, 37–26 | vs. No. 5 Notre Dame | 2–2 |
| 10 | W, 21–18 | at Pittsburgh | 3–2, 1–1 |
| 17 | W, 24–20 | at Duke | 4–2, 2–1 |
| 24 | L, 31–30, OT | vs. Syracuse | 4–3, 2–2 |
| 31 | 7:30 | vs. No. 1 Miami | ABC |
| November | |||
| 7 | Noon | at UConn | CBSSN |
| 14 | TBA | vs. Louisville | TBA |
| 21 | TBA | at Virginia | TBA |
| 28 | TBA | vs. N.C. State | TBA |
| December | |||
| 5 | noon, ABC | ACC championship game in Charlotte | ESPN |
Photo by Joshua Lawton
