It's pretty much common knowledge that the ACC doesn't exactly set the world on fire when it comes to bowl season. Sure, N.C. State's 23-7 win over West Virginia in the Champs Sports Bowl was nice and all, but Georgia Tech early bowl season loss serves as a reminder of just how 'meh' ACC teams have fared in bowl play.
Of the nine current ACC bowl tie-ins, the ACC holds a winning record in just three of those bowls -- the Champs Sports Bowl (11-7-0), the Meineke Car Care Bowl (5-3-0) and the Military Bowl (1-0-0).
In contrast, for three of the ACC's top four bowl slots, the conference has a losing record overall -- the Sun Bowl (4-5-0), the Orange Bowl (10-14-0) and the Peach Bowl (14-20-0). After Georgia Tech's loss to Air Force, the ACC also now has a losing record in the Independence Bowl (1-2-1), and the conference is currently a game below .500 in the Music City Bowl (2-3-0).
In no bowl, however, has the ACC's winning percentage been as bad as the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (nee Emerald, Diamond Walnut). ACC teams are just 1-4 in this bowl, with the one win coming in 2006 with Florida State's win over UCLA. Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami and BC (last year) have all been on the losing end of this bowl game (and no, the conference doesn't count Virginia Tech's or BC's wins in the early 2000s towards their all-time bowl records).
That's just three current bowl games up, six down. If you look at the ACC's all-time bowl records, the conference has a winning record in just 12 of the conference's 29 all-time bowl games. Of those 12 bowls, just seven are still in existence today.
Let's hope that BC reps the conference in the Fight Hunger Bowl and that the ACC doesn't fall further behind in what very well could be the last year the ACC sends a team to the San Francisco-based bowl.
ACC's All-Time Bowl Game Records, Current Bowl Tie-Ins
| Bowl | G | W | L | T | Pct. | Last | ACC Team | W/L | 2010 ACC Team | W/L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2008 | Wake Forest | Won | Maryland | |
| Meineke Car Care | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0.625 | 2009 | North Carolina | Loss | Clemson | |
| Champs Sports | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 0.611 | 2009 | Miami | Loss | N.C. State | Won |
| Sun | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0.444 | 1994 | North Carolina | Loss | Miami | |
| Orange | 24 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 0.417 | 2009 | Georgia Tech | Loss | Virginia Tech | |
| Peach | 34 | 14 | 20 | 0 | 0.412 | 2009 | Virginia Tech | Win | Florida State | |
| Music City | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0.400 | 2009 | Clemson | Win | North Carolina | |
| Independence | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0.375 | 1994 | Virginia | Win | Georgia Tech | Loss |
| Kraft Fight Hunger | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0.200 | 2009 | Boston College | Loss | Boston College |