Syracuse football bowl watch: Orange Bowl projections squeezed to a pulp

Our first true pitfall in the Syracuse Orange’s noble quest for a balance breakfast befell the Orange in College Park, MD. The blowout loss has dramatically altered the map for some, while clarifying the path for others. The journey is the story of how you reached your destination, and there are still plenty of games left in ‘Cuse’s Quest.

Andy Pregler

Belk Bowl

Action Network: vs. Army Black Knights

CBS Sports: vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers

Sporting News: vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs

247 Sports: vs. Kentucky Wildcats

The new hot trend after the loss, the Belk Bowl is now where the majority of “experts” project Syracuse. The matchups range from “hell no” (Army) to “fine” (Minnesota, if only for the #CoyleOff), to the SEC teams I think our fan base would be interested in watching. It’s too early to say how the Orange would matchup up versus either Kentucky or Miss State, but I’m assuming this becomes a staple in our projections from here on out.

Camping World Bowl

Stadium: vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys

This still feels like a long shot, as bowls typically want to avoid back to back year matchups. While the Camping World Bowl doesn’t have the lock-in like last year, so the Orange could end up there, I don’t think it’s likely.

Pinstripe Bowl

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach: vs. Michigan State Spartans

For now, this is my personal leader in the clubhouse for a 7-5/8-4 Orange team. It’s been awhile since the Orange have pinstripe’d, there isn’t a built in NYC game this year, and if the season continues to feel like a let down, this is almost guaranteed to sell due to the sheer number of alumni in the area.

Music City Bowl

College Football News; vs. Iowa Hawkeyes

GIMME A NASHVILLE TRIP TO MAKE JOHN LISTEN TO COUNTRY MUSIC.

If you’re tracking at home, yes, some outlets dropped Syracuse completely from their bowl rankings. That seems harsh, but the Orange in the Orange Bowl also seemed like a reach. I think we’ll start to see more course accurate projections as we enter October, but until then, we will continue to quest for cereal bowls and a more clear map.