Week 9 Bowl Projections: Iowa State still popular, Virginia enters the picture
The 29th Camping World Bowl is still more than two months away, but it’s never too early to start predicting which ACC and Big 12 teams might be headed to Orlando.
Here’s a round-up of projections from around the college football media world after Week 9:
Kyle Bonagura (ESPN): Virginia vs. Iowa State
Mitch Sherman (ESPN): Virginia vs. Iowa State
Eric Single (Sports Illustrated): Virginia vs. Iowa State
Jerry Palm (CBS Sports): NC State vs. West Virginia
Bill Bender (SportingNews): Boston College vs. Iowa State
Jason Kirk (SBNation): NC State vs. West Virginia
Kerry Miller (Bleacher Report): Virginia vs. Iowa State
Brant Parsons (Orlando Sentinel): Virginia vs. West Virginia
CollegeFootballNews.com: Virginia vs. West Virginia
Erick Smith (USA Today): NC State vs. Iowa State
Brett McMurphy (Stadium): Boston College vs. Iowa State
Brad Crawford (247 Sports): NC State vs. Oklahoma State
Virginia vs. Iowa State
• There are no previous matchups between these programs.
• Virginia has played in the Camping World Bowl three times and holds an 0-3 overall record; its most recent appearance was a 63-21 loss to Illinois in 1999, before the game moved to Orlando.
• This matchup would pit two Top 20 defenses against each other with Virginia at No. 20 (327.4 yards per game) and Iowa State at No. 18 (316.7 yards per game).
NC State vs. West Virginia
NC State defeated West Virginia 23-7 in the 2010 Champs Sports Bowl.
• The most recent matchup between these programs came in the 2010 Camping World Bowl, then known as the Champs Sports Bowl; NC State won 23-7.
• Three of the 10 overall contests between the Wolfpack and the Mountaineers have been in bowl games (1972 Peach Bowl; 1975 Peach Bowl; 2010 Camping World Bowl).
• The Wolfpack and Mountaineers were scheduled to play earlier this season, but the game was canceled due to Hurricane Florence.
• In the 2010 matchup, NC State quarterback and game MVP Russell Wilson completed 28 of 45 passes, good for the fourth most pass completions and third most pass attempts in Camping World Bowl history.
Virginia vs. West Virginia
• These two teams have a long history, and this matchup would be the 24th time overall they have met on the gridiron; Virginia holds a slim series lead at 12-10-1.
• The first matchup between the programs came in 1898, when West Virginia defeated the Cavaliers 6-0 in Charleston.
• The Cavaliers and the Mountaineers have not played each other since 2002, when they were matched up in the Continental Tire Bowl — now known as the Belk Bowl; Virginia won 48-22.
• Virginia’s defense, which ranks 20th nationally (327.4 yards per game), would be up against an offense that ranks No. 9 in passing (331.3 yards per game) and No. 15 in total offense (479.1).
Boston College vs. Iowa State
Quarterback Matt Ryan helped Boston College defeat Michigan State 24-21 in the 2007 Champs Sports Bowl.
• The Eagles and the Cyclones have played one time previously — a 14-10 Boston College victory in 1961.
• Boston College is unbeaten in the Camping World Bowl, as it won in 2007 against Michigan State (24-21) and in 1994 against Virginia (21-13).
• In the 2007 matchup, current Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan threw three touchdown passes for the Eagles and finished 22-of-47 for 249 yards.
• The 2007 victory extended Boston College’s bowl win streak to eight, which was the nation’s longest at the time.
NC State vs. Iowa State
• The only previous matchup between these programs came in the 1977 Peach Bowl, a 24-14 victory for NC State.
• In the matchup, NC State and former Minnesota Vikings running back Ted Brown rushed for 114 yards, which was his second 100-yard performance in a Peach Bowl; Brown went on to get inducted into the NC State Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.
• This would be the Cyclones’ first-ever appearance in a bowl game in the Sunshine State.
• Both the Wolfpack and the Cyclones rank in the top-20 in rushing defense at No. 9 (101.3 yards per game) and No. 18 (110.3 yards per game), respectively.
NC State vs. Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph led the Cowboys to a 30-21 victory over Virginia Tech in last year’s Camping World Bowl.
• NC State and Oklahoma State have never met previously on the gridiron.
• Oklahoma State made its first appearance in the game last season with a 30-21 win over Virginia Tech
• This would be the Wolfpack’s sixth overall appearance in the Camping World Bowl; NC State is currently tied with Miami for the overall lead with five.
• In NC State’s appearance in 2003, quarterback Philip Rivers set the Camping World Bowl records for touchdown passes (five), passing yards (475) and pass completions (37); the Wolfpack defeated Kansas 56-26.
Click here to check out weekly projections from earlier this season.