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Re: The Honorary Physicsfactor Duke Lost the Bowl Thread
Prefer Clemson to beat GT only if Duke loses this week or next week.
Prefer Clemson to beat GT only if Duke loses this week or next week.
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SignUp Now!Three ACC teams -- Clemson, Duke and Georgia Tech -- are living dangerously at the bottom of the rankings. This isn’t a case where the rankings are meaningless and the Orange Bowl can pick one conference team over another for monetary reasons. The highest-ranked ACC team will be in the Orange Bowl.
What happens if the conference does not have a team outside of Florida State in the top 25, though? An ACC official told David Teel of the Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia) the league office would consult with a combination of the Orange Bowl, SEC, Big Ten and Notre Dame to determine the ACC qualifier.
Right now, Clemson is in the driver’s seat as the Tigers are ranked the highest at No. 21 and have a relatively smooth pass. If Duke or Miami, which is unranked, were to win out, it would mean a win over Florida State, and unless the Seminoles completely tumble from No. 2, they would likely get the Orange Bowl bid. Clemson and Georgia Tech will play Nov. 15 in a game with obvious implications, but both have end-of-the-season SEC games on the schedule. So, even the winner of Clemson-Georgia Tech wouldn’t be guaranteed the Orange Bowl berth if it faltered against the nonconference rival. The Yellow Jackets seemingly have the tougher in-state SEC rival, although both Georgia Tech and Clemson have not fared well in each team’s rivalry series of late.
The Clemson that was on the field Thursday night, however, likely would not fare well in the Orange Bowl, and the selection committee won’t wake up Friday morning feeling great about the Tigers. It wouldn’t be a shock to see Duke or Georgia Tech jump the Tigers in next week’s rankings frankly.
A healthy Deshaun Watson makes Clemson an entirely different team, though, and the committee should judge the Tigers with its full complement of weapons. There was talk Watson would play Thursday, but coach Dabo Swinney held him out to continue to allow his broken finger to heal. Despite being a true freshman, Watson is the most talented player on the offense and could be the league’s second-best quarterback already; he led the nation in QBR before injuring his hand. A healthy Watson, coupled with a stout Clemson defense, is capable of knocking off an SEC or one-loss Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl.
Duke and Georgia Tech certainly could, too, but it wasn’t only a few weeks ago we were wondering just how far Clemson could have gone if it started Watson from Day 1.
How expensive is a flight from Houston to El Paso? I sure as hell wouldn't want to drive it.dukeberto said:It is just too inconvenient/expensive to get to El Paso for most East Coasters. At least NCCU will be able to attend for the DBC contingent.