FB: 2024 Bowl Games

duke79 said:
Agree with you here, Mike. Yea, I wasn't happy that Riley left Duke but I understand why he would go to ND (at least a few steps above Duke on the college football ladder) where he might have the chance to play for a national title (would never have happened if he stayed at Duke) plus he would have to adapt, for one year, to a new coach and coaching staff (I may be wrong here; I can't remember if Riley left after Midnight Mike made his move to A&M?). Plus, I don't know how much ND offered Riley for an NIL package but I have to believe it was more than he would have received at Duke (and he may never make it in the NFL, so he has to make as much as he can, right NOW). I wish him the best of luck and hope that ND wins the national title. From everything I've seen, RL seems to be an upstanding individual. It's hard to root against him, IMO.
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dude's playing for a national championship. you only go around once...can't blame him.
 
Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15 said:
Put me squarely in the "happy for Riley" camp. Hard to say that he made the wrong decision, assuming his goal was to try and win a ring. He may or may not get it, but his decision put him in the best possible position to make it happen.

A lot of folks here were cynical about his departure and seemingly heartfelt statement about his time at Duke. I think it's likely that he truly enjoyed Duke but wanted a shot to play as late in the season as possible.

I don't think he's likely to make a splash in the NFL. He could find a roster spot somewhere, but he doesn't have first string talent. This next game will likely be the biggest competitive moment of his life.

Good luck, Riley!
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He's almost for sure not NFL starter material, at least on a decent or better team. But Riley definitely has potential as a backup/change of pace player, especially in the "just run around and make stuff happen" vein.
 
Frankly with Riley's outstanding athleticism and intelligence, I'm surprise he hasn't developed more as a passer. I felt he had more natural talent than Daniel Jones. Oops, maybe not the best analogy right now.
 
can't help but root for riley just cause he's a dukie........i don't care for the religious banter, but he seems like a nice enough guy.....and let's face it, instead of playing at wallace wade for 8k folks, he's been playing at one for the most storied football programs in college history and he's playing for 80+K fans.....hard to fault him for that...
 
moonpie23 said:
can't help but root for riley just cause he's a dukie........i don't care for the religious banter, but he seems like a nice enough guy.....and let's face it, instead of playing at wallace wade for 8k folks, he's been playing at one for the most storied football programs in college history and he's playing for 80+K fans.....hard to fault him for that...
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No need to overly denigrate Duke football. There may have been that few folks in the stands once or twice when our ceiling was the Roof, but not for many, many years.
 
moonpie23 said:
can't help but root for riley just cause he's a dukie........i don't care for the religious banter, but he seems like a nice enough guy.....and let's face it, instead of playing at wallace wade for 8k folks, he's been playing at one for the most storied football programs in college history and he's playing for 80+K fans.....hard to fault him for that...
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I was going to say that at least one positive we can take from the RL situation is that Notre Dame had to get a "Duke guy" to make it to the national championship game.
 
BrummieDevil said:
Probably, but it's not illegal on its own as many believe.

What's interesting is that ND was called for a worse PI on the same kind of play against Georgia and there's a chance it was the exact same official (or officials) throwing the flag.

At the very least, I really wish announcers didn't feel it is their duty to cape for every call the officials make. They acted like the below play was a brutal mugging.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1874970445021368536
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I suppose the defender is expected to move out of the way and let the receiver catch it?
 
SouthernDukie said:
PSU went as far as they could. They had the easiest route to the semifinals, and their Cinderella ride finally came to an end.

Good job Riley! Great redemption story in this one!
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Can anyone explain to me why Penn State punted on 4th down in their second-to-last possession? They were getting the yards needed pretty consistently on the ground, and giving the ball up with so little time left really put ND in the driver’s seat.
 
The Gordog said:
Can anyone explain to me why Penn State punted on 4th down in their second-to-last possession? They were getting the yards needed pretty consistently on the ground, and giving the ball up with so little time left really put ND in the driver’s seat.
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On second and five, PSU ran for two yards. On third and three, they ran for no gain. That wasn't a good trend for running the ball again.

If PSU goes for it on 4th and three and don't get it, they give up the ball on around the 32 yard line, which hands Notre Dame a reasonable field goal attempt without another yard gain - and ND likely gains at least a few yards.

Also worth noting: as PSU demonstrated, an interception after the punt could have led to a field goal.

PSU did force ND to punt with enough time left on the clock to maybe do something. If not for PSU's stupid hands-to-the-face penalty, ND likely punts even sooner after a sack and PSU gets much better field position and more clock.
 
I thought the key, maybe even moreso than Notre Dame improving its offensive approach, was the adjustments Coach Freeman made defensively. Penn State just killed them with the run in the first half, including that absolutely brutal 17 play TD drive. They had a lot of rushing in that drive, and others in the first half, and they were controlling the game with their offensive line. But the Irish adjusted, limited Penn State's rushing in the second half, made Allar make plays (I didn't think he was very good at all) and were able to turn the tide.

Question is what do Penn State fans think of Coach Franklin? His record against top opponents is well-documented and terrible. But he does win consistently and did get them to the semifinals of the playoff and had an excellent chance to get to the finals. Are they happy with where the program is under him (as tons of other programs would be) or are they unsatisfied with him due to not winning the big ones?
 
I was rooting for Penn State last night mainly because I have relatives and friends who went there, and they are the eastern powerhouse.

I don't buy that there are more than maybe 2 SEC teams better than they are this year. Furthermore, I don't think that more than maybe 4 or 5 programs have done better the past 5 years than has Penn State--Alabama with Saban, Ohio State, Michigan only because of the national title, Georgia and that's it.

So if Penn State looks to move on from Franklin, they better bring in a powerhouse of a coach and I don't know who that would be.
 
SouthernDukie said:
So is the consensus here that Ohio State wins this game easily tonight? Just curious.
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Count me in the minority -- I'm taking the Longhorns. I believe the quality of the players on both sides is a push, and I think that any anger/momentum harnessed by Ohio State after the Michigan loss will have dissipated; but I predict Sark will formulate an offensive game plan that Ryan Day can't solve.
 
jv001 said:
I don't get that some Duke fans hate on Riley and root for the basketball players that transferred. Most of them transferred to better themselves for more playing time, to play a position they thought they should be playing or to put themselves in a position to play professionally.

GoDuke!
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I’m not one of those people, but I think it’s bc players that transfer from Duke basketball typically are doing so bc they aren’t good enough (i.e., they go to somewhere they can play). Riley left to “move up” to a better program so feels more like a betrayal. It’s the same reason people don’t get mad at those who are casually pushed out of their jobs but land well, but are always a little hurt when a coworker moves onto a better place and leaves you a bunch of work. One is leaving bc they are not capable. The other is leaving bc they are
 
Stray Gator said:
Count me in the minority -- I'm taking the Longhorns. I believe the quality of the players on both sides is a push, and I think that any anger/momentum harnessed by Ohio State after the Michigan loss will have dissipated; but I predict Sark will formulate an offensive game plan that Ryan Day can't solve.
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#4 for Ohio State will be the best player on the field by far.
 
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