Charlotte? New York? El Paso? Bowl possibilities could land UNC in any number of places

CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina’s bowl possibilities cast a wide net.

The Tar Heels perhaps could land anywhere from the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, to the Pinstripe Bowl in New York or the Fenway Bowl in Boston and beyond when bowl assignments are set Sunday, after the College Football Playoff field is revealed at noon that day and postseason dominoes are put in place.

Much closer to home, the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte also could become the destination, where a matchup against a Southeastern Conference opponent might make for a preferred situation.

After suffering an epic collapse and falling in stunning fashion last week at rival North Carolina State to close the regular season, North Carolina (6-6) knows it has been locked out of the top tier of bowls in the Atlantic Coast Conference’s lineup — the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, the Cheez-It Bowl in Orlando, Fla., and the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla.

Pittsburgh (10-2) and Wake Forest (10-2) meet in the ACC championship game on Saturday night, with the winner guaranteed a spot in either the Peach Bowl in Atlanta or the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz. The loser of the league title game, along with N.C. State (9-3) and Clemson (9-3), will be sorted among the Holiday Bowl, the Cheez-It Bowl and the Gator Bowl, and headed to play in those games.

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North Carolina coach Mack Brown said “somebody’s going to get a good bowl team,” while referring to his Tar Heels during the shocked postgame scene that followed their dramatic loss to N.C. State in the regular-season finale.

Miami (7-5), Louisville (6-6), Virginia (6-6), Virginia Tech (6-6) and Boston College (6-6) are the ACC’s other bowl eligible teams.

The Pinstripe Bowl, Duke’s Mayo Bowl and Sun Bowl comprise the second tier of the ACC bowl lineup, while the Military Bowl in Annapolis, Md., and the Fenway Bowl make up the third tier. The ACC also has access to the Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa, Fla., the Birmingham Bowl and the First Responder Bowl in Dallas.

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Most projections place North Carolina in the Pinstripe Bowl (against a Big Ten opponent such as Penn State or Maryland), or the Duke’s Mayo Bowl (against a SEC team such as Auburn or South Carolina), or the Sun Bowl (against a Pac-12 opponent such as Arizona State or Washington State).

The Tar Heels have played in Charlotte’s bowl game four times — now called the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, previously known as the Continental Tire, Meineke Car Care and Belk bowls — with their last visit there occurring in December 2013, a victory against Cincinnati.

Still, other destinations are plenty possible. Jerry Palm of CBS Sports, for example, projects North Carolina for the Gasparilla Bowl, where the Tar Heels could meet an opponent such as Central Florida from the American Athletic Conference or Western Kentucky from Conference USA.

ACC bowl lineup

Dec. 23 Gasparilla Bowl (Tampa, Fla.)

Dec. 27 Military Bowl (Annapolis, Md.)

Dec. 28 Birmingham Bowl (Birmingham, Ala.)

Dec. 28 First Responder Bowl (Dallas)

Dec. 28 Holiday Bowl (San Diego)

Dec. 29 Fenway Bowl (Boston)

Dec. 29 Pinstripe Bowl (New York)

Dec. 29 Cheez-It Bowl (Orlando, Fla.)

Dec. 30 Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Charlotte)

Dec. 30 Peach Bowl (Atlanta)

Dec. 31 Sun Bowl (El Paso, Texas)

Dec. 31 Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, Fla.)

Jan. 1 Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, Ariz.)

Note: the ACC champion is guaranteed a spot in either the Peach Bowl or Fiesta Bowl

Adam Smith is a sports reporter for the Burlington Times-News and USA TODAY Network. You can reach him by email at asmith@thetimesnews.com or @adam_smithTN on Twitter.

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This article originally appeared on Times-News: UNC football bowl game predictions, potential destinations