UNC poised for Orange Bowl bid after moving ahead of Miami in CFP rankings
North Carolina moved to No. 15 in the College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday, which moved it one step closer to an Orange Bowl bid.
The final two happenings that need to take are place are for Clemson to beat Notre Dame in the ACC Championship game on Saturday in Charlotte. And the CFP to take both the Tigers and Irish for its four-team playoff. Notre Dame was ranked second and Clemson third in the poll.
The Tar Heels took care of the first step needed for their first major bowl appearance since 1949’s Sugar Bowl when it beat Miami 62-26 in the regular season finale.
The second step happened Tuesday when that victory jumped the Heels in their CFP rank from No. 17 up two spots. The Hurricanes dropped eight spots with the loss and were ranked No. 18 in the CFP.
The Orange Bowl bid will go to the highest-ranked CFP member of the ACC that does not make the playoffs. Should Clemson win and earn the league’s automatic bid most observers believe the Irish would still be taken ahead of No. 5 Texas A&M and No. 6 Iowa State, by virtue of being a 1-loss team that won the ACC’s regular season. That would make UNC the highest ranked team remaining and thus receive the bid.
Carolina hasn’t been to a New Year’s Six bowl game since a 16-10 win over Auburn in the 2001 Peach Bowl. If Clemson loses to Notre Dame in their rematch -- the Irish won 47-40 in overtime on Nov. 7 -- the Tigers would get the Orange Bowl bid and the Tar Heels would likely be headed to the Cheez-It Bowl in Orlando against an opponent from the Big 12.
“I hope it works out where we get to go to the Orange Bowl,” UNC coach Mack Brown said during his video conference after the Miami win. “We haven’t been to a major bowl since the ‘40s, so this would be an unbelievable accomplishment for these guys.”