2024 FB Bowl Watch
- Thread starter CameronBornAndBred
- Start date
cato
Member
Why is this your nightmare? We should have beat them last time. I’d like another shot.
unix_joe
Member
Not worried. It's a crapshoot because a lot of A&M players who wanted to play for a contender should be in the portal by then. I would love to see Elmo drop to 8-5.
75Crazie
Member
I have less than zero desire to face Midnight Mike.
I think it woukd be veru uncomfortable for Midnight to play us. I'm for the rematch.
sagegrouse
Member
Shirley two 5-3 records are tied, at least in some meaningful sense, if not in some forced tie-breaking algorithm.
Kindly,
Sage
YmoBeThere
Member
Looking at the ACC standings, I can't make a serious argument for Duke to be worse than the 7th overall ACC pick. The teams beneath us aren't stronger draws in terms of travel or merit, UNC included. The teams 5-3 or better have stronger cases even though I'm far from sold on Syracuse. Where that puts Duke will depend on how many ACC teams make the playoffs, the whims of the bowl execs, and how recently a team went to that bowl. (Ex. Syracuse is not likely to go to the Pinstripe 2 years in a row.)
Maybe this is the one year a Duke v. Florida game in Jacksonville could materialize although I shudder to think what that score could be. All of those post-New Year's Day games are not going to be high TV ratings, and Duke isn't a TV draw yet. Some school systems in NC actually are starting classes on Friday, 1/3 (???). A win against a mid-level Big 10 team would probably do more for building the program.
ESPN link: https://www.espn.com/college-football/standings
I agree with all of this. The only team below us I could see considered is VT because of more tradition/bigger fan base, but we won head to head and have the better conference record.
Also, I want nothing to do with the Florida team playing now- Miami got very lucky playing UF to start the season…
Yeah the Gators have 5 losses. Four of them are to teams who will be in the playoff (assuming Miami sneaks in there) and the other is to a solid Texas A&M team. Pretty nice comeback in the second half of the year from Florida.
the year I REALLY wanted Florida was Spurrier's last, when the Gators refused to play us in a bowl, fearing it would foment calls for UF to hire Spurrier, which happened anyway.
I was at the Texas A&M Peach Bowl game. I thought Duke traveled pretty well. Granted, it was Atlanta, so maybe Duke's invite needs to be a bigger city with a lot of Alums already living in the area. I'm not sure how many alums live in the State of Florida, if Duke indeed gets an invitation to a Florida Bowl.
The big wild card for ACC bowl slots is whether we get two teams in the CFP. If Clemson and Miami had both won yesterday, it would have been probable, but now it's only a small possibility. We will find out more when the CFP rankings come out this week.
Regardless, Duke should be in one of the 6 games in the mid tier of ACC bowls...
Regardless, Duke should be in one of the 6 games in the mid tier of ACC bowls...
BlueDevil2K
Member
Looking at all these options and dates, it's hard to know "what bowl is a good bowl". One would assume (meaning me) that a game after New Years would be a better than one before, but that's not always the case. So to help things out, I give you this tier ranking that I found from last year. In the article, you can read how they figure out each one.
With Duke now being predicted by one ESPN guy in the Holiday Bowl, that's respectable, as is another ESPN prediction, the Pop-Tarts Bowl. (Used to be the Cheez-It)
Tier 1: The Big Time
- Sugar (13.31)
- Orange (13.14)
- Fiesta (12.21)
- Rose (12.06)
- Cotton (11.30)
Tier 2: The Next Best Thing
- Citrus (7.70)
- Holiday (6.81)
- Gator (6.77)
- Peach (6.32)
- Alamo (6.27)
Tier 3: A Solid Matchup
- ReliaQuest (5.54)
- Liberty (4.25)
- Sun (4.02)
- Las Vegas (3.23)
- Cheez-It (3.09)
Tier 4: Rising New Bowls or Stagnant Older Ones
- Cure (2.88)
- Boca Raton (2.22)
- New Orleans (2.14)
- Music City (2.13)
- Independence (2.02)
- Arizona (2.00)
Tier 5: Not Ready for Prime Time
- Armed Forces (1.8)
- Pinstripe (1.75)
- Duke’s Mayo (1.71)
- Guaranteed Rate (1.64)
- Birmingham (1.63)
- Frisco (1.5)
- First Responder 1.42)
- Texas (1.05)
Tier 6: Ya Basic
Every bowl in this tier is at a flat 1.00.
- Hawaii
- New Mexico
- Military
- Camellia
- Bahamas
- Myrtle Beach
- LA
- Fenway
Tier 7: Almost “The Blutarsky”
- Quick Lane (0.92)
- Famous Idaho Potato (0.62)
- LendingTree (0.38)
- Gasparilla (0.29)
This seems like a reasonable enough list. I would make some minor changes (Peach is clearly at the bottom of Tier 1 now, ReliaQuest should be Tier 2 but was knocked down for changing sponsors too many times).
Based on our ~final ranking today of ~27, Duke should be in approximately the 8th best bowl beyond the playoff. I know that conference tie-ins skew things, but Tier 3 seems to be the sweet spot. Holiday or Gator bowls (Tier 2) would be a nice bump up. ReliaQuest seems within reach, and Sun Bowl at the bottom of that tier.
Jerry Palm says Charlotte vs. Minnesota, which is two tiers too low for the season we just had. ESPN says Gator (LSU) or Charlotte (Nebraska).
CameronBornAndBred
Well-known member
The Mayo bowl in that tier listing is the one that I don't agree with at all. And, aside from everything, it's in Prime Time on a weekend, in a location that is drivable for many Duke fans (and parents).
If we don't get the Gator/Holiday/Pop-Tarts bowls, I'm perfectly happy with Charlotte.
SavDukeGrad
Member
For years, I have wanted Duke to get a Gator Bowl invite, since it is only a 2 hour drive for me and I could easily attend. But since that means an SEC opponent, and probably a pretty good one like Florida, I’m not sure I am in favor of that this year. Plus there aren’t many Duke alums in the area - I think Charlotte would attract a lot more Duke fans, although I know there’s a discrepancy in $ and bowl prestige.
Having Wake grads in my family, I am reminded of the Gator Bowl in 2021 - Wake Forest had won their division but lost to Pitt in the ACC championship game. Iirc, they were selected to play in the Gator Bowl against Texas A&M. But TA&M had a lot of players saying they were opting out, so the school chose to take advantage of the Covid exception and opt out as a team. Wake fans were convinced, and I agreed at the time, that Jimbo was afraid he might be embarrassed by a motivated ACC team, with so many opt outs. Rutgers, selected by another bowl whose opponent had also opted out iirc, filled in for A&M and lost to Wake. Also a cautionary tale for how fast a program can fall in the current football landscape - Wake won 11 games and was 7-1 in the ACC just 3 years ago.
Having Wake grads in my family, I am reminded of the Gator Bowl in 2021 - Wake Forest had won their division but lost to Pitt in the ACC championship game. Iirc, they were selected to play in the Gator Bowl against Texas A&M. But TA&M had a lot of players saying they were opting out, so the school chose to take advantage of the Covid exception and opt out as a team. Wake fans were convinced, and I agreed at the time, that Jimbo was afraid he might be embarrassed by a motivated ACC team, with so many opt outs. Rutgers, selected by another bowl whose opponent had also opted out iirc, filled in for A&M and lost to Wake. Also a cautionary tale for how fast a program can fall in the current football landscape - Wake won 11 games and was 7-1 in the ACC just 3 years ago.
Stray Gator
Moderator
Florida State says hello. From 13-1 to 2-10 in one year is a fall that's not likely to be topped anytime soon.
The tiers in that link are unrelated to the way the ACC has them stratified. BTW - Reliaquest is not an ACC bowl this year and has not included an ACC team since 1995.