The Boca Raton Bowl invited UCF today against an ACC opponent to be named later. The ACC was not that bowl's original tie-in (CUSA/MAC), which is concerning if bowls start discarding their AAC tie-ins instead of just the lower-level leagues.
At the moment, the AAC's seven guaranteed bids (eight if Cincinnati beats Tulsa twice and gets the access bowl spot) have nine possible bowl destinations, with two certainties in the Military Bowl (team not named yet) on Dec. 28 against an ACC opponent and the Boca Raton Bowl. The Armed Forces Bowl was on the list but already has announced it will take two teams from Power Five conferences.
Here is the full list with date and original opposing conference, with the exception of the Boca Raton Bowl, where I've changed it to ACC:
Frisco Bowl Dec. 18 (CUSA/MAC/Mountain West)
Myrtle Beach Bowl Dec. 21 (CUSA/MAC/Sun Belt)
Idaho Potatoes Bowl Dec. 22 (Mountain West)
Boca Raton Bowl Dec. 22 (ACC)
Gasparilla Bowl Dec. 26 (SEC/ACC)
First Responders Bowl Dec. 26 (ACC/Big 12)
Cure Bowl Dec. 26 (Sun Belt/MAC)
Military Bowl Dec. 28 (ACC)
Birmingham Bowl Jan. 1 (SEC)
I have no idea where Tulane will end up if it gets to go to a bowl, but I would not rule out the possibility of playing a Power 5 opponent. The conference office does not care where you finish in the league. They care whether you have a chance to win the game, and Tulane would have a much better chance than Navy, a better chance than Memphis and SMU and about the same chance as Houston. The only teams clearly ahead of Tulane are Cincinnati, UCF and Tulsa (based on its record). With geography more important than normal, I would not rule out the Birmingham Bowl, but no one really knows what will happen in this environment.
Navy will probably lose to Army, so I'm not sure the Midshipmen will accept a bowl bid at 3-7, and I can't imagine the AAC letting Navy take a beat-down to an ACC team on its home field at the Military Bowl.
At the moment, the AAC's seven guaranteed bids (eight if Cincinnati beats Tulsa twice and gets the access bowl spot) have nine possible bowl destinations, with two certainties in the Military Bowl (team not named yet) on Dec. 28 against an ACC opponent and the Boca Raton Bowl. The Armed Forces Bowl was on the list but already has announced it will take two teams from Power Five conferences.
Here is the full list with date and original opposing conference, with the exception of the Boca Raton Bowl, where I've changed it to ACC:
Frisco Bowl Dec. 18 (CUSA/MAC/Mountain West)
Myrtle Beach Bowl Dec. 21 (CUSA/MAC/Sun Belt)
Idaho Potatoes Bowl Dec. 22 (Mountain West)
Boca Raton Bowl Dec. 22 (ACC)
Gasparilla Bowl Dec. 26 (SEC/ACC)
First Responders Bowl Dec. 26 (ACC/Big 12)
Cure Bowl Dec. 26 (Sun Belt/MAC)
Military Bowl Dec. 28 (ACC)
Birmingham Bowl Jan. 1 (SEC)
I have no idea where Tulane will end up if it gets to go to a bowl, but I would not rule out the possibility of playing a Power 5 opponent. The conference office does not care where you finish in the league. They care whether you have a chance to win the game, and Tulane would have a much better chance than Navy, a better chance than Memphis and SMU and about the same chance as Houston. The only teams clearly ahead of Tulane are Cincinnati, UCF and Tulsa (based on its record). With geography more important than normal, I would not rule out the Birmingham Bowl, but no one really knows what will happen in this environment.
Navy will probably lose to Army, so I'm not sure the Midshipmen will accept a bowl bid at 3-7, and I can't imagine the AAC letting Navy take a beat-down to an ACC team on its home field at the Military Bowl.
