Bowl Projections (after one week of games)
Mark Schlabach (ESPN) – Miami vs. Cincinnati
Brad Edwards (ESPN) – Miami vs. Cincinnati
Scout.com/CollegeFootballNews.com – Virginia Tech vs. Cincinnati
Jerry Palm – Miami vs. UCF
ESPN ACC Blog – Georgia Tech
The experts’ projections for the Russell Athletic Bowl remain mostly intact after week one of the college football season. The only alteration being the Scout.com/CollegeFootballNews.com projection where Cincinnati replaces Louisville as the American Athletic Conference representative.
Cincinnati remains the favorite to represent the American Athletic Conference after opening the season with an impressive 42-7 win over Purdue. The Bearcats dominated both sides of the ball, outgaining the Boilermakers (425-226) on their way to the victory. Cincinnati travels to Illinois (1-0) in week two for its second-straight game against a Big Ten opponent.
UCF is now the only other team from the American to be projected into the Russell Athletic Bowl. The Knights cruised to a 38-7 victory last Thursday over visiting Akron. Blake Bortles passed for a career-high 314 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. UCF now travels to in-state foe Florida International (0-1) for a Friday-night matchup.
The projections for the ACC’s representative in the Russell Athletic Bowl remain unchanged after one week of action. None of the experts changed their pick after the first week and the only addition is from the ESPN Bloggers, who did not make a preseason projection, placing Georgia Tech in Orlando. Miami (Fla.) is the early favorite, appearing in three-of-five projections. The Hurricanes blew past Florida Atlantic, 34-6, to open up the season. Miami hosts in-state rival Florida (1-0) on Saturday.
Virginia Tech remains Scout.com’s pick to appear in this year’s game, despite opening the year with a 35-10 loss to defending national champion Alabama. The Crimson Tide were too much to handle for the Hokies, as Alabama scored a touchdown on offense, defense and special teams in the first 16 minutes of the game. The Hokies host FCS opponent Western Carolina this week.
Georgia Tech makes its first appearance in the projections for the Russell Athletic Bowl, as it is David Hale’s pick to represent the ACC. Hale is a blogger for ESPN and covers Florida State for the website. Georgia Tech dominated Elon in week one, earning a 70-0 victory. The Yellow Jackets are off this weekend before opening ACC play against Duke (1-0) next Saturday.
