A tough matchup but the Blue Devils earned it.
The bowl schedules have been released and Duke will face Ole Miss in the Gator Bowl. The Blue Devils are currently about a two-touchdown underdog.
Quick, what do Ole Miss and Duke have in common?
Both had David Cutcliffe as head coach.
Ole Miss, ranked #14, finished the regular season 9-3 and 5-3 in the SEC. The losses came to Kentucky, LSU and Florida.
You may remember that Ole Miss hung 40 points on Wake Forest and that Wake then canceled the series.
When you rule out the rubes and buy games, other than Arkansas, Ole Miss is generally scoring in the mid to high 20’s. Duke has made a living this year on defense but still, Mississippi is probably a cut above most teams that the Blue Devils faced this season.
However, Duke did face some quality teams, notably SMU, which the Mustangs won 28-27 in overtime, and while Miami won 53-31, this was a one-point game in the fourth quarter.
So we know Ole Miss will be favored, but Duke has shown an ability to compete so don’t rule the Blue Devils out just yet.
The game will be on January 2nd and if Duke does win, it’ll have a 10-win season for just the second time in school history.
