Yuck. Why on earth would we want to do this? Just makes it that much harder to get to a bowl game that year with no upside other than money.
Cut being a nice guy and giving Satan a rematch after we beat them for the NC in January, 2019 and after senior Daniel Jones wins his 2nd consecutive Heisman.
(credit to our younger son-in-law, CB&B and Ozzie for some of the above )
[redacted] them and the horses they rode in on.
I can't disagree with this more. If you get a chance to play Alabama away from Tuscaloosa you take it. I'm sure Duke gets a nice check from the game, plus it will garner a good deal of exposure since it's a game that will be talked about during the offseason (even if Bama is a massive favorite). At some point, you can't just hope to crawl to six wins beating directional state and a few conference games.
It's pretty obvious why this happened.
The organizers of the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game regret inviting UNC to play the 2016 game. Even though the Heels lost to UGA, the whole experience left a bad taste in their mouths that even a spicy chicken sandwich and a peach milkshake couldn't fix. Duke is the ultimate palate cleanser.
You meant Saban, right?
I regard this as great news, and believe it should be viewed as a fabulous opportunity for Duke football to get the kind of bright-light national exposure that will benefit the program in multiple ways, especially recruiting. Because the best players want to compete against the best opponents on the biggest stages, the chance to participate in a game of this magnitude could make Duke a more attractive destination to some for whom the choice of a program is a close question. In addition, the favorable publicity for Duke football will be priceless. And the more it may appear to be a mismatch, the greater the opportunity to make a positive impression. So regardless of the final score, I think that Kevin White and Coach Cut should be applauded for securing Duke a berth in this event, and that we as Duke fans should be looking forward to the game.
The current freshmen will be seniors, so it could be a Duke team led by Sr Daniel Jones, for example. The current redshirts will be juniors. The incoming recruiting class will be juniors or (redshirt) sophomores.
The timing could be right, i.e. we might stand a chance here.
I read this news with a mix of excitement and dread. The Notre Dame victory this season is certainly memorable, but what would beating Alabama in Atlanta mean for the program? Talk about a program-changing moment. It ain't going to be easy, that's for sure.
The connections between Alabama and Duke are interesting. David Cutcliffe is an Alabama grad and everyone knows Wallace Wade coached in Tuscaloosa before "moving on up" to Duke. The days of being a borderline Top 25 team while avoiding the ACC's elite teams are over. A more talented team is going to play more talented opponents.
EDIT: Game is in Atlanta, not on Duke's campus.
What Stray said. This is a great opportunity for what could be a really good Duke team. The past couple years of recruiting have brought in the kind of kids who can compete with the top programs in the nation, especially when Cut coaches them up the way he always does. Plus, this is major national exposure at the start of the season when football fans are rabidly watching. How anyone could see this as anything but a major positive is mystifying to me.
This kind of game announces you as a national player, a team worth watching. It will help with recruiting, helps with our reputation, and is a chance to further solidify the impression that Duke is more than just a basketball school. Plus, if there is ever a time to play Alabama, it is at the very start of the season in a game away from Tuscaloosa. Bring it on!!
-Jason "amazing news... and it will be in my home town. When do tickets go on sale?" Evans
Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?
Maybe it'll be a down year for the Crimson Tide.
In April, 2020 the Final Four is in the same stadium so I'm assuming Kevin White's plan is that we start the year with a win over Alabama then finish it with a national title in the same building.
Yes this could be a good selling tool to recruits that they would get to play against Saban and the Tide in a nationally televised game. The only down side would be if we get blown out. If we can make it a game it would even pay huge dividends for future recruits as well. Plus would open eyes to young coaches when to think about Duke once Cut decides to retire down the road in like 10 years or so.
opening against Alabama certainly did not help USC this year.
2019 is also several years away. We can project players for both teams but we will be wrong as injuries, early NFL departures etc. take their toll.
The game will get heavy publicity and help showcase the program which is certainly good.
SoCal
Happily the team will go into this game with more optimism than some of the posters on this board. I'm also sure we will be a better team (and likely a pretty good one, at that), but for the naysayers and fear laden, I remind you of 2006 when Duke played at Alabama. Taking one of the longest losing streaks in the country into hostile territory, we led that game at halftime and wound up losing 30-14, and the margin wasn't more than a TD separating both teams until near the end of the game.
http://www.espn.com/ncf/recap/_/id/262800333
Q "Why do you like Duke, you didn't even go there." A "Because my art school didn't have a basketball team."
My response is twofold:
1. Good grief, we're gonna get murdered, and even as a local, I'm not springing 150 bucks to go and watch.
2. The above points about taking on all challengers and seizing opportunities for exposure (and just maybe to surprise some people) are important and useful. Above all, I can't help but look at this as another indicator of how far our program has come. The Chick fil A Kickoff Game has been billed since its inception as a "national spotlight game," featuring respected programs with national profiles. Remember how just 8 years ago, Duke won a lawsuit by successfully arguing in court that we were the worst Power 5 program in the country? We'd have never sniffed inclusion in this game under those circumstances, so to me, our simple presence in the game is to be celebrated.