Duke Football Bowl Projections - Week 13
We are back with Week 13 Bowl Projections from Brian Kennedy of Duke Football Talk and myself. Duke loss to UVA this past Saturday in Charlottesville by a score of 30 - 27. Below are our bowl projections for week 13.
Brian Kennedy of Duke Football Talk - Section 17 Podcast
Remember, remember the ides to November. This has not been the greatest month to date for Duke. After losing 2 of the last 3 games, Duke is limping to the finish line. With a lack luster performance this past Saturday in Charlottesville, Duke will end the regular season at home against a rejuvenated Pitt squad who just defeated Boston College. Throw in the fact that Pitt played Thursday night, and you have Duke at a disadvantage with Pitt having 9 days to prepare.
Throw in the calamity that is still happening all over the ACC. The big news from this past weekend is Jordan Travis' season ended with that gruesome leg injury, putting FSU at risk of missing the CFP. If that happens, bowl calamity will certainly happen. You can't also forget that State and UNC will be playing for 3rd place in the ACC standings, which could also determine bowl locations.
Even with all this, I STILL have Duke in Charlotte, for the Duke's Mayo Bowl the time being. Remember folks, bowls select their teams to play based off of potential travelling fanbase, as well as location. Throw in overall records and you have your rundown. Kept Duke in Charlotte for now due to Miami and Clemson having better travelling fanbases, which could put them out west.
With that being said, a Duke win would certainly help their case for Charlotte with 7 wins. A loss? Well that would put Duke more than likely in bowl tier 2 territory meaning anything and everything is possible. Let's all hope that Duke ends the season with a win, and we won't have to worry about that. GO DUKE!
Freddie Hodges of Duke Report
Brian said it best above.. Duke is limping to the finish line to end this season. The loss to UVA this past weekend does not help their chances for a higher ranking bowl at all. ACC chaos continued to happen this past weekend as well with Pittsburgh beating Boston College. And guess what... Duke will play Pittsburgh at home this coming Saturday. FSU got the win but lost starting quaterback Jordan Travis for the season due to a leg injury.
Everything stated above is a recipe for chaos for ACC bowl selections. I think FSU still has a chance to make the playoff if they go undefeated... but please believe the CFP committee is definitely paying close attention to how FSU finishes the season, as well as the ACC championship game. If FSU loses another game the dominoes could fall in ACC bowl destinations. With that said, even with a FSU loss, they may not fall as much, as FSU could still get in a New Years Six bowl.. Nobody knows until the games are played.
Enough talk about FSU lol... Duke needs to get back in the win column this weekend when they take on Pitt with a 12:00 PM kickoff this Saturday to close out the season in Wallace Wade Stadium. For now, like Brian, I STILL have Duke heading just a couple hours Southwest to play in the Duke's Mayo Bowl. However, my bowl prediciton is on thin ice at the moment. A Duke win this coming weekend and I think they have a legit shot to land in the Dukes Mayo Bowl. A loss.. well.. open up the map again as Duke could be heading in a lot of directions. Like Brian said above, the bowls select their teams based off of potential travelling fanbase as well as location. This weekend, I am keeping my eye on another ACC team - Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech is fighting to become bowl eligible when they play UVA this weekend. VT is also well known for its travelling fanbase and could possibly shake up a few bowl destinations with a win.
With all of this said, let's hope Duke gets the win at home Saturday to finish a roller coaster of a season at 7 - 5. In my opinion, a 7 - 5 Duke team would have good potential to land in Charlotte for the Duke's Mayo Bowl. Go Duke!