FB: Duke 36, N Ill 14 (Quick Lane Bowl Champs!)

[YmoBeThere]

We received the same message, and donated two tickets -- an easy way to help support Duke football and provide a nice holiday appreciation gift to deserving public servants for those of us who won't be able to attend.

"Ticket sales for this year’s Quick Lane Bowl will have a distinct impact on Duke’s attractiveness for future bowl invitations."

According to Webster's, "fake news is a self-explanatory compound noun" that is unlikely to be added to its dictionary anytime soon.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/word...y-of-fake-news

Here is an email we got from Kevin White - I won't be able to make it to Detroit on the 26th, but just bought a ticket for Duke to give away... plus looks like it is tax deductible if anyone is interested:

Dear GoDuke2004,

With the selection to a fifth bowl game in six seasons, the success of Duke Football under Coach David Cutcliffe has been nothing short of remarkable: an ACC Coastal Division championship in 2013, four consecutive bowl bids from 2012-15, an exciting victory in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl and this year’s bid to the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit. Additionally, Duke remains among the leaders nationally in the Graduation Success Rate of its football student-athletes, upholding the academic standards of the University and developing tomorrow’s leaders.

At the heart of these achievements lies an unwavering commitment to the quality of the total student-athlete experience – in the classroom, on the field, and in the community. To be sure, a vital part of a first-rate experience for the student-athletes is the support of Duke fans. Given that, I hope as many Blue Devils as possible will join us in cheering for the team in the Quick Lane Bowl on December 26th at Ford Field.

At the same time, we recognize that it is a long trip during a challenging time of the year. So, as an alternative, we invite you to show your support for the Blue Devils and help turn Detroit Duke Blue by purchasing tickets to be distributed to first responders, servicemen, their families, and underprivileged youth in the Detroit area. For $50, not only will you provide a game ticket for these deserving individuals to cheer on our Blue Devils, but they will also receive a Duke Blue t-shirt to wear during the game. In short, we will strive to fill Ford Field with Duke fans and provide the team with the best gameday atmosphere possible.

To show your support, simply click here and select the "$50 Donated Ticket" price type to order your Quick Lane Bowl tickets for donation. For these donated tickets, you will receive gift-in-kind credit on your Iron Dukes account, and will also receive a tax receipt.

Finally, your ticket purchase for the Quick Lane Bowl will benefit future Blue Devil teams as well. Ticket sales for this year’s Quick Lane Bowl will have a distinct impact on Duke’s attractiveness for future bowl invitations. Past fan turnouts have started to establish a strong tradition of support for the team in bowl games. We’re counting on you as Duke Football fans to demonstrate, once again, that the Blue Devils have the best fans in all of college athletics!

See you in Detroit!

Regards,
Kevin White
Vice President and Director of Athletics

Just got around to doing this today, but glad to have the opportunity to hopefully get some Duke friendly folks in the stands.

[OldPhiKap]

Gotta say that the fans on the NIU chat board have been great. Very friendly. I get the sense that they are looking forward to a shot at a P5 team although there is some Detroit fatigue because (1) the MAC Championship game is there and they’ve been something like 5 of the last 7 years; and (2) for folks in Northern Illinois, Detroit is not a novel or warm place to go celebrate the season. Varying estimates on how they will turn out.

Teams look like mirrors. Strong defense, run game ahead of the pass game on offense. Offense has a lot of QB draws and (cover your ears) bubble screen passes. We had a tougher schedule, but they played their schedule more consistently than we did.

Revising my attendance hopes down though. Sad that I have taken my daughter to three games this year (Duke hosting FSU, Clemson hosting FSU, UGA hosting Mississippi State) and this is likely to be The Big Empty.

We turned out well to all the bowls since Cut got here, though. C’mon Devils, represent!

[Reilly]

Duke will wear script helmets in the bowl game:

Attachment 7921

Snake Slayden approves ...

[Reilly]

Duke leaning toward Holmquist as kicker, punter for bowl
http://wr.al/1A7TP

I didn't realize he wore hearing aids. http://now.tufts.edu/articles/tufts-...football-squad

Guessing his hearing loss + walk-on-thrust-into-spotlight storyline will be a human interest story line for the game.

[Bob Green]

Ben Humphreys is expected to play in Quick Lane Bowl:

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/c...190055854.html

“I expect to see Ben able to play in the bowl game at this point,” Duke coach David Cutcliffe said on Friday.

[Reilly]

Ben Humphreys is expected to play in Quick Lane Bowl:

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/c...190055854.html

Wow -- I was @Army and saw him carried off and didn't think there was any way we'd see him again in 2017. Good for him (and us).

[OldPhiKap]

Ben Humphreys is expected to play in Quick Lane Bowl:

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/c...190055854.html

Woo hoo!!!!

[budwom]

Quonsah played very well in Humphreys' absence, and frankly was better than a semi injured Humphreys late in the season...we could use them both vs NIU...

I think Duke definitely has an attitudinal edge going into this game, but how much good that does us remains to be seen. (OPK's summary of NIU forum sentiments was right on the money).

[Bob Green]

Quonsah played very well in Humphreys' absence, and frankly was better than a semi injured Humphreys late in the season...we could use them both vs NIU...

Absolutely! Quansah was the team's leading tackler (10) against Wake Forest. He also forced and recovered a fumble. Against Georgia Tech, Quansah had seven tackles including one Tackle for Loss. He was recognized at the football banquet as the team's most outstanding special teams performer (Bill Keziah Award).

[peloton]

Ben Humphreys is expected to play in Quick Lane Bowl:

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/c...190055854.html

I believe I yelled "alright!" when I read it in the N & O this morning...just couldn't help myself. With Joe Giles-Harris, Koby Quansah, and Ben Humphreys leading the way for the linebacking corp, they are The Trifecta of Terror indeed. Between this and the news yesterday that William Holmquist "probably will take over as both kicker and punter in the Quick Lane Bowl...", I can't wait until the 26th. The money quote is, "Cutcliffe said Friday that Holmquist "has been outstanding" in pre-bowl practices."

Devilwin, here's hoping you get your cherished birthday present...hurry up Dec 26th!

[peloton]

By the way, kudos to DBR for using the wonderful photo of a joyous Ben Humphreys jumping up and celebrating Alonzo Saxton's deal sealing interception against the program down the road that can't play by the rules.

[Bob Green]

NIU leading rusher Jordan Huff is out for the game:

http://www.daily-chronicle.com/2017/...firms/az05fqg/

Northern Illinois senior tailback Jordan Huff (ankle), will not play in the 2017 Quick Lane Bowl vs. Duke on Dec. 26, NIU coach Rod Carey confirmed to the Daily Chronicle Monday morning.

Carey said Huff plans to have surgery on his left ankle – an injury that sidelined him for three games this season. Huff, a 2017 All-Mid American Conference Third Team selection, finishes his career with 2,167 rushing yards on 333 carries with 20 rushing touchdowns.

NIU has some young talented running backs on the roster but will miss the experience of Huff who rushed 127 times for 740 yards and four touchdowns this season. He also caught seven passes for 43 yards and two touchdowns.

[Reilly]

Per the SRS, Duke usually steps up in weight class come bowl time. The exception was 1954, and this year (of course the prior year's ratings are post-bowl). Our biggest bowl upset win, SRS-wise, was 1960-61 when #32 beat #12.

1938-39 season: #10 Duke lost to #5 USC 7-3 in the Rose Bowl
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb...8-ratings.html

1941-42 season: #8 Duke lost to #5 Oregon State 20-16 in the Rose Bowl
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb...1-ratings.html

1944-45 season: #19 Duke WINS over #18 Alabama 29-26 in the Sugar Bowl
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb...4-ratings.html

1954-55 season: #21 Duke WINS over #41 Nebraska 34-7 in the Orange Bowl
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb...4-ratings.html

1957-58 season: #15 Duke lost to #2 Oklahoma 48-21 in the Orange Bowl
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb...7-ratings.html

1960-61 season: #32 Duke WINS over #12 Arkansas 7-6 in the Cotton Bowl
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb...0-ratings.html

1989-90 season: #36 Duke lost to #22 Texas Tech 49-21 in the All American Bowl
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb...9-ratings.html

1994-95 season: #27 Duke lost to #22 Wisconsin 34-20 in the Hall of Fame Bowl
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb...4-ratings.html

2012-13 season: #68 Duke lost to #31 Cincinnati 48-34 in the Belk Bowl
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb...2-ratings.html

2013-14 season: #31 Duke lost to #19 TXA&M 52-48 in the Chik-fil-A Bowl
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb...3-ratings.html

2014-15 season: #40 Duke lost to #16 Arizona State 36-31 in the Sun Bowl
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb...4-ratings.html

2015-16 season: #57 Duke WINS over #59 Indiana 44-41(OT) in the Pinstripe Bowl
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb...5-ratings.html

2017-18 season: #41 Duke v. #53 NIU in the Quick Lane Bowl
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb...7-ratings.html

Per the SRS, this 2017 Duke team would be a half-point favorite over the 1989 Duke team.
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/duke/

[Reilly]

Duke's bowl wins have come over Alabama, Nebraska, Arkansas, and Indiana. All of those schools have a state's name in their name. And all of those states lie at least partially in the central time zone.

Hellloooo, Northern Illinois University, what time do you have? The ultimate betting trend line.

(Every Duke bowl opponent has had a state's name in its name. Even private Southern Cal.

We didn't get it done against Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Wisconsin, or Oklahoma -- other central time zoners.)

[OldPhiKap]

NIU leading rusher Jordan Huff is out for the game:

http://www.daily-chronicle.com/2017/...firms/az05fqg/



NIU has some young talented running backs on the roster but will miss the experience of Huff who rushed 127 times for 740 yards and four touchdowns this season. He also caught seven passes for 43 yards and two touchdowns.

With Huff out, the player who ran for the most TDs this season is their QB.

But they have some good young backs with skill. The loss of Huff and Lurry (CB) takes away two very good players. Sutton Smith on the D side is really good though. This is a good team.

Although they are not P5, we lost to Army. We need to be ready to play our A game. I like the way we finished the season, and hope that is still where we are.

[Reilly]

... Sutton Smith on the D side is really good though ...

Does he play standing up? Line up on different sides of the formation?

How good are our TEs at blocking? I actually have not seen many of our games this year all the way through. It seems like we had somewhat highly regarded TEs, but I don't if that's for pass-catching rather than blocking, and if they're living up to expectations.

[OldPhiKap]

Does he play standing up? Line up on different sides of the formation?

How good are our TEs at blocking? I actually have not seen many of our games this year all the way through. It seems like we had somewhat highly regarded TEs, but I don't if that's for pass-catching rather than blocking, and if they're living up to expectations.

Some highlights:

https://youtu.be/eGUxT_Yv-XM

MAC defensive POY.

[Reilly]

Some highlights:

https://youtu.be/eGUxT_Yv-XM

MAC defensive POY.

Thanks. Quite fast (believe I'd read he was a RB originally). Looks like coming from the left and the right. We don't need negative yardage plays.

[OldPhiKap]

Thanks. Quite fast (believe I'd read he was a RB originally). Looks like coming from the left and the right. We don't need negative yardage plays.

Yup, yup and yup. He will be a challenge to the O-Line and the play calling in general. I assume we will do some double-teaming, and (cover your ears, Bob) screens to the opposite side.

Over/under is 47.5, and we are +5. Guess that calls for a 27-21 Duke win if we cover. Would really love to see us start quickly on offense. I think both defenses are stout, the question is whether we have the offense we showed at the bookends of the season or whether we look lost like the middle of the season.

[devildeac]

Yup, yup and yup. He will be a challenge to the O-Line and the play calling in general. I assume we will do some double-teaming, and (cover your ears, Bob) screens to the opposite side.

Over/under is 47.5, and we are +5. Guess that calls for a 27-21 Duke win if we cover. Would really love to see us start quickly on offense. I think both defenses are stout, the question is whether we have the offense we showed at the bookends of the season or whether we look lost like the middle of the season.

And you thought all my posts were beer related .

Good insights about the O and the D.