Sun Bowl Mania

Georgia Tech gets bowl waiver

One hurdle preventing Georgia Tech representing the ACC in the Sun Bowl has been cleared.

The NCAA has granted the Yellow Jackets a waiver Thursday allowing them to be bowl eligible even if they fall to 6-7 with a loss to heavily favored Florida State in Saturday's ACC championship game.

NCAA rules require teams to have a winning record to go to a bowl unless an exemption is granted.

The Sun Bowl is required to take the loser of the ACC title game if that team falls to them, which Georgia Tech almost certainly would with a loss to Florida State, though the ACC and Georgia Tech could waive that.

Georgia Tech played in El Paso last year and the Sun Bowl has indicated it would prefer not to have the same team here two years in a row.

Sun Bowl likely to take either Arizona or USC

Executive director Bernie Olivas said a consensus of the Sun Bowl committee was not reached on whether to select Arizona or USC, but that one of those two teams will probably play in the New Year's Eve game. He said he will consult with the Pac-12 Conference office Tuesday. Arizona has support on the Sun Bowl committee because of its proximity to El Paso, while USC is a big name brand. Arizona State and Washington are available but have been mostly ruled out.

The ACC side of the equation is completely up in the air. By contract, the Sun Bowl is required to select the ACC championship game loser if no one ahead of the Sun Bowl takes it, and if Georgia Tech goes to 6-7 with a loss to heavily favored Florida State, and if (as expected) the NCAA gives it an exemption that would allow it to play in a bowl with a losing record, it would almost certainly fall to the Sun Bowl. However, the Sun Bowl also has a clause that allows it to bypass a team that came here last year, which Georgia Tech did. The Sun Bowl will consult with the ACC office about bypassing Georgia Tech so it can take someone else, probably 6-6 Virginia Tech or 7-5 North Carolina State.