Chick-fil-A Bowl: #24 Duke vs. #21 Texas A&M (12/31 8PM ESPN)

[nocilla]

The thread title indicates that ABC has the game but everywhere I have seen shows ESPN carrying the game.

[UrinalCake]

My wife and her entire extended family are all huge Aggie alums and fans. This is going to make for an interesting holiday season. The Aggies travel well so we need our fans to show up too! And I will say that the Aggie fans are all extremely kind and respectful people. They have developed a culture of treating opposing fans really well when they come into College Station, and I would expect the same from them in Atlanta.

http://m.bleacherreport.com/articles...-football-fans

Of course, with that said the ones I know are also referring to Duke as a "high school team" and think they'll destroy us without any trouble.

[Atlanta Duke]

wasn't about public transit in general, just a joke about the perceived safety of the marta, which has a rather sketchy (though perhaps unfounded) rap...wikipedia (obviously the most reliable source) has this to say:

further, perceived crime has somewhat stalled the expansion of marta

Do not want to veer into public policy issues but other than as a code word "perceived crime" is not what kept Gwinnett and Cobb counties from voting to join MARTA - it is a moot point now since the federal funding required to extend a heavy rail system is Gone With the Wind

For those who may want to consider staying in the Lenox/Buckhead area there are MARTA rail stations that can get you to the Dome by rail in less than 30 minutes - good luck to anyone who plans to drive to the game and park in lots downtown

IMO ticket prices should be reasonable, unlike when an ACC school such as Clemson and a SEC school east of the Mississippi have played

[Native]

The thread title indicates that ABC has the game but everywhere I have seen shows ESPN carrying the game.

Whoops, I think you're right. Mods, can you change that?

[Farlan]

We will be there. We also were upgraded to lower level endzone. I've been to Atlanta many times and have always used the Marta without any issues. I made reservations at the Holiday Inn Atlanta - Perimeter/Dunwoody. There are several other hotels in this area as well with a Marta station at Perimeter Mall. We stayed here for the Kentucky-Duke game last November and had no issues with Marta there and back. I agree that security is probably better with large events like this, but we have used it for general vacations and have never felt unsafe.

It should be a great game. I'm excited!

Thanks for posting this -- I was looking at making a reservation at the Staybridge Inn Peremiter Park and using MARTA. Glad to know that you had no issues!

[devildeac]

Yea, but Duke hasn't faced a QB this season as good as Manziel other than Winston. I think Manziel does what Marquise Williams did to Duke, but x2...

Gotta outscore them.

Define x2.

Rushing yds?
Passing yds?
Rushing TDs?
Passing TDs?
Completions?
Attempts?
Any combination/s of the above?


I'd be happy with twice the number of INT he threw in that game.

[Atlanta Duke]

The thread title indicates that ABC has the game but everywhere I have seen shows ESPN carrying the game.

The web site of The Worldwide Leader states the game is on ESPN

http://espn.go.com/college-football/overview

[pfrduke]

Whoops, I think you're right. Mods, can you change that?

Done and done

[94duke]

Valid points, all.

To get you fired up:

http://www.ajc.com/feed/sports/chick...exas-am/fWdKH/

Still have not seed odds on the game, assume we will be underdogs. Just where we want to be.

This part made me chuckle:

Pitting a 10-win Duke team, coming off its best season ever, against an SEC powerhouse brand like Texas A&M...

Remind me, how long have they been in the SEC?

[FerryFor50]

This part made me chuckle:

Remind me, how long have they been in the SEC?

Ha.

Fair point... but they came right in and made noise. And they do play SEC powerhouses each year... and they hang with them.

[ClassOf98]

Heading home to GA for the holidays, so clearly we're going to the game. Yay!

I hate sitting in the endzone so I'm considering getting sideline tickets, instead. The Olympics were the last time I can remember being in the Dome, so does anyone have any insight on the following?


1) It's an NCAA event, so will they be selling alcohol during the game?

2) Considering the answer to #1, is there anything to warrant spending the extra $$ on club-level seats?

3) Which endzone are the Duke-allotted seats in? The seating chart on goduke.com is busted for me.


Thanks!

[wilson]

1) It's an NCAA event, so will they be selling alcohol during the game?

2) Considering the answer to #1, is there anything to warrant spending the extra $$ on club-level seats?

3) Which endzone are the Duke-allotted seats in? The seating chart on goduke.com is busted for me.


Thanks!

1) Technically, the bowls are not NCAA-sanctioned events, so they do sell alcohol. It's also pretty easy to get one of those plastic liquor store-issue flasks in.
2) Not at all, in my opinion (see above). Club level seats are very expensive.
3) I'm not sure, but this chart seems to indicate that the ACC end is sections 101/201/301 through about 115/215/315.

[budwom]

We need to be able to run the ball, particularly on first down. Life is good when you play from second and five, as opposed to second and nine.

I think that is really the key; both teams should be able to score and I like the playmakers we have on D. Especially at crunch time.


Edit to add, from a Scout article that may or may not be accurate and is not through their last game:

"Through 10 games A&M owns the SEC’s worst total defense, conceding 454.4 yards per game, a full 20.0 yards per game worse than the next team in line (Tennessee). The Aggies rank 13th in the conference in rush defense (210.7 ypg), 12th in pass defense (243.7 ypg) and have given up 230 first downs, the most in the SEC.

"Making matters worse: In part because of how quickly the Aggies’ offense can score, the defense has been on the field for an eternity this fall. At an average of 27 minutes, 26 seconds, Texas A&M ranks last in the league in time of possession.

"Schematically A&M vacillates between a base 4-3 set and a 4-2-5 look"

I'm with you completely on running the ball. We should be able to do it, and absolutely MUST do it if we want to score the number of points necessary to win this game...I would
think 35-40 points minimum will be required.

[graybead]

Just saw the first line for the game and Texas A&M is favored by from 11.5 to 13.5. I think I would take that bet, if I bet. http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-...dds/las-vegas/

[wilson]

Just saw the first line for the game and Texas A&M is favored by from 11.5 to 13.5. I think I would take that bet, if I bet. http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-...dds/las-vegas/

I bet (heh) that spread will grow...the vast majority of money will be on Johnny Football.

[moonpie23]

i am still in awe of 10-3 and the peach bowl? if i'd offered that back in july, y'all woulda thought i was imbibing….

[Skitzle]

i am still in awe of 10-3 and the peach bowl? if i'd offered that back in july, y'all woulda thought i was imbibing….

Moonpie on Moonshine

I just looked back at a post of mine in the Bowl Selection Vigil.

I had asked, would you rather win a lousy bowl game or lose a good bowl game. I said that "Getting the A in the AP class" was not an option.

Mostly because I thought it unrealistic, but boy.. does that hypothetical look silly now.

LETS WIN THE GOOD BOWL GAME !!! (Dukies do get A's in AP classes by default)

[OldPhiKap]

Just saw the first line for the game and Texas A&M is favored by from 11.5 to 13.5. I think I would take that bet, if I bet. http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-...dds/las-vegas/

A bit bigger than I expected, but probably similar to the Miami and VT lines.

I like our match-up.

[brevity]

Ha.

Fair point... but they came right in and made noise. And they do play SEC powerhouses each year... and they hang with them.

Hang, but lose. (This year.) The Aggies are 0-4 against ranked teams this season. They were within a score of Alabama, Auburn, and Missouri, but lost to LSU by 24. Their best win is probably 41-38 at Ole Miss. Every SEC opponent scored at least 24 against them.

Final scores listed by opponent first. Texas A&M losses bolded.

UTEP 7-57
SMU 13-42
Vanderbilt 24-56
Sam Houston 28-65
Missouri 28-21
Rice 31-52
Arkansas 33-45
LSU 34-10
Ole Miss 38-41
Miss St 41-51
Auburn 45-41
Alabama 49-42

ETA: Rice scored 21 of those 31 points in the first half, during Johnny Manziel's exile from college football. Based on my understanding of football, which comes entirely from ESPN, this is relevant because the quarterback means everything to a team, including its defense.

[Dev11]

1) Technically, the bowls are not NCAA-sanctioned events, so they do sell alcohol. It's also pretty easy to get one of those plastic liquor store-issue flasks in.

For general knowledge, not selling alcohol at games isn't an NCAA policy. I've been to on-campus sporting events at multiple schools here in CO that have full bars. I believe the restriction is institutional to Duke or the ACC.