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

[OldPhiKap]

From Jaurez to Windsor: OPK's Duke Bowl Travelguide

“You must spread some Comments around before commenting on Reilly again.”

But you raise a great question — are Canadian tattoos different? Like adding random u’s to colour and such?

(And I’ll give a plug again for El Paso and the Sun Bowl —would do that trip again in a heartbeat)

[OZZIE4DUKE]

“You must spread some Comments around before commenting on Reilly again.”

But you raise a great question — are Canadian tattoos different? Like adding random u’s to colour and such?

(And I’ll give a plug again for El Paso and the Sun Bowl —would do that trip again in a heartbeat)

Eh?

LGD GTHc!

[OldPhiKap]

Eh?

LGD GTHc!

Looking to get a “9F” tattoo. But, as you warn, not a “9F, eh?” tat.

[arnie]

SRS says we're not even 3 points better:

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb...7-ratings.html

Early betting lines now set - Duke is a 2.5 point favorite. I thought it would be higher.

[Bob Green]

VegasInsider.com has Duke as a 3.5 points favorite with the over/under set at 49 points. Total points scored were "under" in nine of 12 Duke games this season:

http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-...cfm/team/duke

[arnie]

VegasInsider.com has Duke as a 3.5 points favorite with the over/under set at 49 points. Total points scored were "under" in nine of 12 Duke games this season:

http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-...cfm/team/duke

Interesting that we covered the line in all our wins: and our opponent covered in all our losses, except for the “push” against FSU. That kind of tells me we played well in our wins and generally played poorly in our losses. May seem obvious, but in other years I recall slipping by inferior opponents or nearly beating a few teams when we were clearly the underdog.

[kako]

I thought this bowl was supposed to match a Big 10 team vs. an ACC team... so why Northern Illinois? Not enough bowl-eligible in the Big 10?

[BD80]

... I could have chartered a bus and driven all of you around! Just think of the tip money I could have made!

An uber Uber?

[Reilly]

Six bowl match-ups ranked worse than Duke/NIU:

https://www.cbssports.com/college-fo...to-sugar-bowl/

[BigWayne]

I thought this bowl was supposed to match a Big 10 team vs. an ACC team... so why Northern Illinois? Not enough bowl-eligible in the Big 10?

Big 10 has 9 preset bowl spots and only 8 teams. However, they got an extra slot in the big six bowls so they actually are two teams short and need replacement teams for both the QuickLane and Heart of Dallas bowls.

[OldPhiKap]

Six bowl match-ups ranked worse than Duke/NIU:

https://www.cbssports.com/college-fo...to-sugar-bowl/

I’ll say this in opposition:

1. In the Cutcliffe era, I think all of the Bowl games have been highly entertaining. Belk was a game until two minutes left; Peach-fil-A against Johnny Football was epic; Sun Bowl was a back and forth lead change in the fourth quarter; Pinstripe was a thriller.

2. Many folks are off 12/26, and there is no bowl competing on TV. We get all the eyes.

3. I live in SEC country, where folks don’t really care for Coach K or college basketball really. But they LOVE Cutcliffe, or at minimum really respect what he has done and what he stands for. The Bowl may not score big in the Bristol CT market, but will do well in the Bristol TN market and all throughout the south.

4. If both teams show up, I think the post-Bowl ranking of exciting bowls will be in the top third or quarter. I don’t blame folks for looking at our 6-6 record and saying “meh.” But the last two games were strong. If we play like that, it should be a fun game.

[Atldukie79]

NIU is better than Army, UVa, and Pitt (per SRS) -- three teams we lost to.

Point differential, in order, for NIU and Duke.


#54 NIU (#74 offense; #36 defense)

+46 ball state (#125)
+31 @bgsu (#117)
+28 eastern illini (fcs)
+21 kent st (#122)
+04 @nebraska (#63)
+04 wmu (#77)
+03 emu (#89)
+01 @buffalo (#83)
-------------------------------
-03 bc (#27)
-06 @sdsu (#40)
-07 @cmu (#85)
-10 @toledo (#37)

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb...7-ratings.html



#41 Duke (#73 offense; #30 defense) (2.79 points better than NIU on neutral field)

+53 nccu (fcs)
+24 nu (#21)
+23 gt (#38)
+14 baylor (#97)
+10 @unc (#74)
+08 @wfu (#22)
---------------------------------
-05 @army (#61)
-07 @uva (#64)
-07 fsu (#34)
-07 pitt (#66)
-21 @vt (#20)
-25 miami (#12)

Great post! Interesting that we played 4 teams ranked higher than any that NIU played (#12,#20,#21,#22), winning 2 and losing 2.
NIU's best win was #63 (Nebraska...a nice brand name) We beat 3 teams with much better rankings.

Whatever the "eye test" might tell you, we clearly had a more challenging schedule, and beat better teams. (Duh)

[sagegrouse]

I thought this bowl was supposed to match a Big 10 team vs. an ACC team... so why Northern Illinois? Not enough bowl-eligible in the Big 10?

Well, one reason is that Northern Illinois is better than the U. of Illinois.

[weezie]

An uber Uber?

A super duber uber Uber.

I'm granting you permission to take over my idea.

[OldPhiKap]

A super duber uber Uber.

I'm granting you permission to take over my idea.

If you were a potato, you would be a super duper uber Uber tuber.

But that would be silly.

Speaking of, kinda, for what food is Detroit known?

[devildeac]

If you were a potato, you would be a super duper uber Uber tuber.

But that would be silly.

Speaking of, kinda, for what food is Detroit known?

Wings, of course. Red Wings. (I'm guessing here .)

[OldPhiKap]

Wings, of course. Red Wings. (I'm guessing here .)

Wouldn’t that be octopus on ice?

[Reilly]

... for what food is Detroit known?

Just googling around ...

https://www.thrillist.com/eat/detroi...before-you-die

https://detroit.eater.com/maps/best-detroit-dishes-food

[Bob Green]

So I've been lurking over at the NIU Dog Pound and there is a thread stating starting cornerback Shawun Lurry had surgery on his wrist and will be out for the Quick Lane Bowl. Lurry had an 86 yard Pick 6 against Nebraska:

http://csnbbs.com/thread-836154.html

I registered for an account Sunday evening but as of this morning it has not been activated so I cannot post yet. Perhaps they don't want Duke fans invading or perhaps someone over there knows me...

[BD80]

... Speaking of, kinda, for what food is Detroit known?

Detroit has several "ethnic regions" such a Polish community centered in Hamtramck, which has some very good Polish restaurants and bakeries.

Many non-Michiganders do not realize that Detroit has the largest Arab-American population in the country, and thus some of the finest Arabic or Mediterranean restaurants in the country. They are all over the Detroit area, but the greatest concentration, and some of the finest, are in Dearborn, west of the city, east of the airport and surrounding the Ford headquarters and Ford museum.

Faced with an onslaught of in-laws from Indiana for Thanksgiving last year and unforeseen logistical challenges, we catered a Mediterranean meal for the event. It was a complete success. Some had never even heard of most of the dishes and were just astonished that such marvelous food had eluded them for decades. Sadly, they are having difficulty finding decent Mediterranean cuisine in Indianapolis to sate their new cravings.