The Confidential

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Archive for the tag “Duke Blue Devils”

22 Jul 2015
6 Comments

The Football Over-Unders for 2015: Duke

This article is another in a series of articles in which the Confidential opines regarding the over/under for football wins in 2015.  We’ll take a cursory look at the schedule and determine what we think is the point where folks will struggle to select “over” or “under.”  We hope people will share their comments as to “why” they are going over/under.  If you disagree with our over/under choice, of course, feel free to let us know too.  The next team up: Duke.  We are going with an over/under of 7.5 regular season wins.

  1. September 3 @ Tulane
  2. September 12 vs North Carolina Central
  3. September 19 vs Northwestern
  4. September 26 vs Georgia Tech
  5. October 3 vs Boston College
  6. October 10 @ Army
  7. October 24 @ Virginia Tech
  8. October 31  vs Miami
  9. November 7 @ North Carolina
  10. November 14 vs Pittsburgh
  11. November 21 @ Virginia
  12. November 28 @ Wake Forest

Likely losses: Who knows?  Have to be some in here, right?

Likely wins: Tulane, NC Central, Army

Summary:  Duke rivals North Carolina State for schedule ease, but similarly goes on the road for two of its foes–Tulane and Army.  This, of course, is sandwiched around four home games.  The Confidential has no idea how Duke will do this year.  None.  Home losses to Northwestern, Georgia Tech, Miami, and Pitt could happen… or not.  Road losses to Virginia Tech, North Carolina, and Virginia could happen.  Or not.  Heck, even Wake Forest could beat Duke–especially with Wake hosting the game.  Or not.  Kind of absurd that Duke avoids all of Florida State, Clemson, and Louisville in crossover games.  Seriously, anything could happen here.  0-12.  12-0.  Ultimately, however, the Confidential goes with a a default over-under of 7.5 wins.

What do you think?  Over or under?  Let us know.

Prior discussions: Florida State Georgia Tech Wake Forest Pitt Virginia Virginia Tech Louisville Miami Notre Dame NC State

Posted by acaffrey in Football, Over/Under, Poll, Predictions and tagged , , , , , ,
01 Dec 2013
2 Comments

ACC Bowl Projections: 11-teams

The Confidential has been saying for weeks now that the ACC had a great chance of getting 11 bowl-eligible teams and detailed the scenarios needed to make it happen. I’m very proud to report that the scenarios we projected occurred almost exactly to plan.

The good news is that, thanks to Syracuse’s win over Boston College to close out their regular season, the Orange are now 6-6 and are bowl eligible for the second consecutive year. Furthermore, the ACC can now boast that they have 11 teams that are eligible for post-season play. That’s a record for the Conference and matches the SEC’s best.

The bad news is that thanks to Clemson’s complete meltdown on National TV against their in-state rivals, the ACC is likely to only have 1 representative in the BCS. Granted that one representative will likely be Florida State in the National Championship Game, but losing out on a 2nd BCS team not only means lost revenue (approx. $18M) but also makes it more difficult to find bowl sites for the remaining 9 bowl eligible teams.

Worst of all, that means that there is a good chance that at least one bowl-eligible team from a Power Conference will not be invited to a bowl game this year. Currently Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and North Carolina are all on the bubble. Read more…

Posted by Vinnie Saltine in ACC only, Bowls and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
27 May 2013

L-ACC-rosse: Duke Blue Devils 2013 Champions!

Duke After quickly trailing 5-0 and being held scoreless in the first quarter, the #7 Duke Blue Devils gave the ACC another championship in lacrosse by thoroughly dismantling the #1 seeded Syracuse Orange in a 16-10 romp on Memorial Day. It’s the Second Championship in Duke’s history and could be the first of many for years to come.

The game’s Most Outstanding Player was the ACC Defensive Player of the year, Brendon Fowler, who despite some early violations, dominated the face-offs all afternoon (20 face-off wins), and gave Duke a huge offensive advantage. Read more…

Posted by Vinnie Saltine in ACC only, Duke Correspondent, Lacrosse and tagged , , ,
26 May 2013
3 Comments

Syracuse Orange: Comeback Kids beat Denver, Duke awaits

Go ahead, call it a comeback. For the second consecutive week, the Syracuse Orange men’s lacrosse team needed last minute heroics to overcome certain defeat against Yale and Denver, respectively. With their 9-8 win over the Denver Pioneers, the Orange will square off against future conference-mate, Duke, in the NCAA Division I Championship game on Monday. Yet for over 55 minutes on Saturday, it seemed that Denver fans’ Rocky Mountain High would continue on, instead it all came crashing down. Read more…

Posted by Vinnie Saltine in ACC only, Lacrosse, Syracuse correspondent and tagged , , , ,
06 Mar 2013
8 Comments

Fast Forward: The ACC in 2016?

It’s 2016 and conference realignment has slowed down.  Again.  As most expected, the Atlantic Coast Conference has survived another round of unsubstantiated rumors and quasi-sourced reports from university big wigs and industry executives.  Overall, the past few years have proven quite productive in terms of membership and revenue.

A combination of ESPN affirming its financial commitment to the conference and the additions of Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Louisville, Cincinnati and Connecticut have made way for a 16-team league which boasts a great amount of competitive talent, geographic diversity and athletic tradition.

The ACC now has eight teams competing in men’s lacrosse with Cincinnati, Louisville and UConn adding the niche sport to their athletic departments.  Six of the league’s baseball teams are firmly in the Top 25 and seven teams are regulars in the women’s basketball Top 25.

College football has gradually improved over the past two years.  The Seminoles and Tigers have continued their top-tier presence in the rankings and Virginia Tech, Louisville, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh add some needed depth to the conference schedule.  NC State, Connecticut and Syracuse are steadily improving, the Tar Heels are sanction-free and competitive and Georgia Tech has awoken from its talent slumber.

College basketball is absolutely phenomenal.  Along with the annual Tobacco Road matchup, Syracuse-UNC has become epic in its short existence and Pitt has become quite the foe of Duke, NC State and Virginia.  Much anticipated matchups between Duke and Louisville and Connecticut and North Carolina have also given way to intense conference-wide games with Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.  The conference now boasts seven teams with national championship histories.

Although there is much competition among the field in both basketball and football, there is a great amount of talent at the top.  Many believe multiple ACC representatives will punch cards to the Final Four and there is guarded optimism a team will soon vie for the Coaches’ Trophy at Cowboys Stadium.

As with anything, it takes vision, determination and patience to see a great idea through to fruition.  The ACC is no different.  Fantasies often begin with unrealistic expectations while goals are accomplished through steady hard work and practical ambitions.

Congratulations, ACC!  You had the nerve and foresight to persevere and maintain your athletic tradition while maintaining and promoting solid academics.  The Confidential looks forward to many more years of ACC excellence.

**Is this article fantasy or realistic? Join the discussion below and let the Confidential know your opinion.

Posted by MBenjAdams in ACC only, Baseball, Basketball, Conference Realignment, Football, Lacrosse, Louisville Correspondent, Predictions and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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