Bowl projections for Hokies after Week 10: Leaning toward a trip to Fenway

BLACKSBURG — Virginia Tech's 2-3 start to the season had most projections leading toward the Hokies' first trip to the Fenway Bowl. A three-game winning streak changed those forecasts to more favorable bowl destinations, but an overtime loss at Syracuse brought the projections back to a potential trip to Boston in late December.

Three of the 11 projections have the Hokies in the Fenway Bowl against a team from the American Athletic Conference. The Fenway Bowl has been a popular pick based on where Tech is forecasted to finish in the ACC standings.

There also are multiple projections for the Pinstripe Bowl against a Big Ten team and then a trip to El Paso for the Sun Bowl against a legacy Pac-12 opponent.

It will likely be a couple more weeks before the pecking order of bowl selections comes into picture in the ACC. Tech is teetering on the edge of being in a Tier I bowl versus a Tier II bowl.

Here are the bowl projections after Week 10:

Gasparilla Bowl (Dec. 20, 3:30 p.m., ESPN; Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida)

Birmingham Bowl (Dec. 27, noon or 3:30 p.m., ESPN; Protective Stadium, Birmingham, Alabama)

Fenway Bowl (Dec. 28, 11 a.m., ESPN; Fenway Park, Boston)

Pinstripe Bowl (Dec. 28, noon, ABC; Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York)

Military Bowl (Dec. 28, 5:45 p.m., ESPN; Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Maryland)

Sun Bowl (Dec. 31, 2 p.m., CBS; Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso, Texas)

Duke's Mayo Bowl (Jan. 3, 7:30 p.m., ESPN; Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, N.C.)

Damien Sordelett (540) 981-3124