Originally Posted by
wilson
This is a good thought, but remember, the bowls are at least as much about television as they are about ticket sales. The Belk people were smart to place that bowl in Charlotte, because they have their TV contract and a near-annual in on a strong showing from Duke/Wake/State/unc (and even to a lesser extent, Clemson and GA Tech, both within about a 3-hour drive of the game). However, this is the exception to the rule when it comes to lesser bowl games. I don't really think, say, State or carolina would be demonstrably more likely than Duke to travel en masse to Shreveport. The same goes for El Paso...my understanding is that Sun Bowl officials have long since resigned themselves to light crowds and they make their money from ESPN. I've seen more than one very paltry crowd sitting in a snowy West Texas stadium watching Tech play whomever on New Year's Eve afternoon.
Remember, Belk took us last year. The Herald Sun beatwriter reported on twitter:
@stevewisemanNC:
@thedevilwolf Don't count on it. I've been told Belk not likely to take Duke 2 years in a row.
Originally Posted by
wilson
Good points here and throughout the thread.
Bear in mind that if there's a logjam at 6 or 7 wins, Maryland is likely to be one of the teams clogging the works. Call me crazy, but I'd think the folks in the league office (who do play a fairly important role in bowl placement conversations) would much rather have Duke earn a second straight bowl bid than find a spot for the departing Twerps.
Again, I really don't think it's going to come down to any of this, as these would-be doomsday scenarios almost never come to pass. It's just liable to be a very interesting conversation in the coming weeks.
This is true, but it's possible for there to be TWO extra teams - that's what the ACC blog on ESPN has.
I think one or two of the 3-3 teams will collapse to make the situation clearer, but we'll see. Duke can only assure itself a bowl by going 8-4, although 7-5 with a win over Wake or UNC likely removes at least one other bowl contender.
<devildeac> anyone playing drinking games by now?
7:49:36<Wander> drink every qb run?
7:49:38<loran16> umm, drink every time asack rushes?
7:49:38<wolfybeard> @devildeac: drink when Asack runs a keeper
7:49:39 PM<CB&B> any time zack runs, drink
Carolina Delenda Est