Miami football team likely headed to Birmingham or Shreveport for bowl game
The Miami football team likely headed to Birmingham, Alabama for the Birmingham Bowl or Shreveport, Louisiana for the Independence Bowl Game later this month according to the final bowl projections after Championship Saturday.
The Miami football team lost their final two games of 2019 to Florida International and Duke to halt rumors of earning a bid to the Orange Bowl for the second time in three seasons. The late-season losses dramatically dropped the Hurricanes in the ACC pecking order when the bowl game matchups are announced Sunday.
The consensus bowl projections have the Miami football team headed to the Birmingham Bowl at legendary Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama or the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana. Miami played and lost 24-21 to South Carolina in its only Independence Bowl appearance in 2014.
The loss to the Gamecocks was Al Golden’s second and final appearance coaching the Miami football team in a bowl game. Miami has never played in a bowl game in the state of Alabama. The Hurricanes did play Alabama twice in the Sugar Bowl with each program capturing a national championship with a victory.
The majority of the bowl projections have Miami playing either a team from the American Athletic Conference or a team from Conference USA. The most common projections for the Hurricanes are against Tulane in the Independence Bowl or a very good Cincinnati team in the Birmingham Bowl.
The Bearcats lost in the AAC Championship game. David Lake of Inside the U published the list below from the listed websites where Miami could wind up for the Holidays. This is not a definitive list, only projections from the listed websites about where the Hurricanes could play.
We have added in a few other bowl projections below USA Today’s.
- 247Sports has Miami facing Western Kentucky (8-4) in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana. That game is played on December 26th.
- CBSSports projects Miami to play Tulane (6-6) in the Birmingham Bowl on January 2nd.
- ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and Kyle Bonagura each have Miami playing FAU (10-3) in the Independence Bowl on December 26th. FAU won the Conference USA Championship on Saturday.
- Brett McMurphy of Stadium has the Hurricanes taking on Southern Miss (7-5) at the Independence Bowl on December 26th.
- College Football News projects Miami to play Tulane (6-6) at the Independence Bowl on December 26th.
- BannerSociety.com has Miami facing Cincinnati (10-3) in the Birmingham Bowl on January 2nd.
- USAToday picks Miami to take on Cincinnati (10-3) in the Birmingham Bowl on January 2nd.
- The Athletic/Stewart Mandel– Vs. Southern Miss Independence Bowl
- The Sporting News/Bill Bender– Vs. Southern Miss Independence Bowl
- Sports Illustrated (pre-championship weekend) vs. Washington (7-5) Sun Bowl
The most interesting of the matchups would obviously be Washington. Playing the Huskies in El Paso is highly unlikely. The Sports Illustrated Bowl projections were released on Wednesday ahead of Conference Championship weekend. Washington also had a disappointing season finishing slightly ahead of Miami at 7-5.
Games against FAU in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport or the Birmingham Bowl versus Cincinnati would test the Hurricanes far more than matchups against Southern Mississippi or Tulane. Playing Tulane in their home state would be difficult but a game against the 6-6 Green Wave would not create much enthusiasm.
Next. Al Golden spiteful in lawsuit against Miami. dark
In Miami does wind up playing Florida Atlantic the matchup would lose a lot of luster with Lane Kiffin accepting the Mississippi job on Sunday. The Rebels will hold Monday press conference to officially announce Kiffin as their new head coach. FAU defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer will coach the Owls in their bowl game.