But where? As we have learned in the past, BC never wins any beauty contests with the bowls, no matter what it does on the field. If a 9-3 division champion with Matt Ryan at quarterback can’t get an invite to a top-tier ACC bowl, no BC team will.

BC has three games remaining - at Virginia, home against North Carolina, and at Maryland. All three are winnable.

So what would BC get at 9-3? Well, if Clemson loses one game, the Eagles will be Atlantic Division champions. If that happens, they had better win the championship game to get the Orange Bowl bid, because neither the Gator nor the Chick-fil-A Bowl will take them.

This year, ACC rules say that both bowls can pass on the loser of the title game, but the loser can’t fall below the Music City Bowl, which won’t take BC since the Eagles were in Nashville last season and didn’t bring much fan support. The Champs Bowl in Orlando could take them, as could the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte or the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco.

So what would happen? We think the Eagles will wind up playing in the Emerald Bowl against a Pac-10 team Dec. 26.

Here’s why:

The Chick-fil-A Bowl clearly wants no part of BC, just as it didn’t two years ago. On its website, it has Clemson, Miami, and Virginia Tech on its short list, which is legitimate (although it also said Clemson was on course for the ACC championship game in Jacksonville; good luck with that, since the ACC title game has been in Tampa the last few years).

It also has Duke (5-3) on its short list, with the following comment from Leeman Bennett’s blog:

“Duke has a tough stretch over the next four weeks, but I think they have at least two winnable games. If they can keep up this pace, their first bowl appearance since 1994 just might be in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.’’

Really.

Here is Duke’s remaining schedule: at North Carolina (5-3); vs. Georgia Tech (8-1); at Miami (6-2); vs. Wake Forest (4-5).

We presume the winnable games are North Carolina and Wake Forest, which would put Duke at 7-5, which is not 9-3. Yet there is no mention of Boston College.

The Gator Bowl wants Notre Dame on the other side, which would eliminate BC (no rematch) and leave Miami, Virginia Tech, Clemson, and Georgia Tech as the main contenders.

The Champs Bowl might take BC back, but it would prefer one of those teams or Florida State if it can rally and become bowl-eligible.

The Meineke Car Care Bowl wants a Carolina connection against a Big East team, which puts Duke, Wake Forest, Clemson, or (dream) Virginia Tech in the mix.

All signs leave San Francisco as the most likely non-BCS choice for the Eagles at 9-3, 8-4, 7-5, or 6-6.

No matter what they do, the Eagles will take the next two days off, as they are on their only bye week of the season.

After holding light practices Tuesday, Wednesday, and yesterday, coach Frank Spaziani gave the Eagles today and tomorrow off. They will return to their game routine Sunday to begin preparations for Virginia.

Freshman quarterback Dave Shinskie said he will spend the weekend relaxing.

“It’s been great,’’ said Shinskie. “The last two days, I’ve felt my body recovering. And this weekend, a couple of us will go with Billy [Flutie] to watch his younger brother at a Natick High School game.

“And then on Saturday, I will just hang around and watch some movies, maybe a few games. But I was never really into watching games or sports in general.’’

Freshman linebacker Luke Kuechly said, “I can’t wait to just sit down and turn on the television set and just watch games. I don’t honestly know who’s playing, But I will just turn on the television and watch ESPN, CBS, or whoever and just watch games.’’