Mark Schlabach (ESPN) – Miami vs. UCF
Brad Edwards (ESPN) – Miami vs. UCF
Scout.com/CollegeFootballNews.com – Miami vs. Rutgers
Jerry Palm – Miami vs. UCF
SBNation – Miami vs. UCF
ESPN ACC Blog – Maryland
It has become pretty apparent that most of the experts expect to see an instate battle between Miami and UCF in this year’s Russell Athletic Bowl. Maryland and Rutgers are the only other teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference and American Athletic Conference, respectively, to appear in any of the projections.
UCF (3-1) remains the favorite in the American despite dropping a close home game to South Carolina (3-1, 1-1 SEC), 28-25 this past weekend. The Knights went up 10-0 at halftime before the Gamecocks scored the first 28 points of the second half. UCF fought back thanks to two Rannell Hall touchdown receptions from Blake Bortles, but they were unable to complete the comeback. The Knights open up their American Athletic Conference schedule when they travel to Memphis (1-2) on Saturday.
Rutgers (3-1) remained Scout.com’s selection to head to Orlando after having this past weekend off. The Scarlet Knights look to maintain the momentum they gained in their upset of Arkansas two weekends ago when they travel to SMU (1-3) on Saturday for their first ever meeting with the Mustangs. Cincinnati was not as fortunate as it fell from the projections during its off weekend. The Bearcats head to Tampa, Fla. to take on USF (0-4) this weekend.
Miami (4-0) remained the favorites in the ACC to appear in the Russell Athletic Bowl. The Hurricanes are coming off a 49-21 win at USF Saturday. The ‘Canes used a balanced attack throwing for 375 yards while rushing for 165 and six different players reaching the end zone. Miami welcomes ACC Coastal division foe Georgia Tech (3-1, 2-1 ACC) this weekend.
Maryland (4-0) makes their first appearance in the projections despite being idle this past weekend. The Terps were aided by West Virginia, who Maryland beat 37-0 two weekends ago, beating No. 11 Oklahoma State this past weekend. Maryland heads south this weekend for a top 25 matchup with Florida State (4-0, 2-0 ACC), looking for its first 5-0 start since 2001 when they won the ACC.
Georgia Tech fell from the projections after a midweek 17-10 loss to Virginia Tech (4-1, 1-0 ACC). The Yellow Jackets turned the ball over three times and only managed to rush for 129 yards, well below their average of 291 yards per game. Georgia Tech returns to action when they travel to Miami in a game with huge ACC Coastal Division implications.
