Belk Bowl

Bowl History: This Bowl was first played in 2002, the NCAA certified the Bowl as the Queen City Bowl …. even though it has never been called that …. it remains the Official Name of the bowl! The Queen City Bowl has been known as the Continental Tire Bowl …2002 through 2004 … Meineke  Care Car Bowl …. 2004 – 2010 …. and when Belk took over sponsorship in 2011 …. the Belk Bowl. The Bowl tie-ins are ACC vs Big East! On December 28, 2002, the inaugural game was played between Virginia & West Virginia …. won by Virginia, 48-22! Last year’s game (2011) featured North Carolina State against Louisville…NC State prevailed, 31-24! The Belk Bowl payout is 1.7 million per team!

Teams: Cincinnati: Conference Affiliation: Big East; Overall Record 9-3, Conference Record 5-2  vs Duke: Conference Affiliation: ACC; Overall Record 6-6; Conference Record 3-5, Divisional Record 2-3 (Coastal Division)

Bowl Location: Charlotte, North Carolina …. Game played at Bank of America Stadium. Stadium Capacity is 73,778 leaving the 2011 attendance of 58,427 @ 79.19% of the Arena’s capacity!

Day, Date, & Time: Thursday, 12/27/2012 @ 5:30 CST

Network: ESPN

Best Wins: Cincinnati: beating Virginia Tech, 27-24 on September 29th …. Duke: their victory over North Carolina, 33-30, on October 20th!

Worst Losses: Cincinnati: their loss to Toledo, 29-23 … Cincy came into the game unbeaten …. failure to beat either Rutgers (10-3) or Louisville (34-31 in OT) ….a win in either of these games …. Cincy would have won the Big East outright! Duke: was hammered by Florida State (48-7), Clemson (56-20), Va Tech (41-20), & G-Tech (42-24)!

Common Opponents: Virginia Tech …. Cincinnati beat the Hokies, 27 to 24 while Duke lost to V-Tech, 42-24!

Las Vegas Hotsheet: Game opened at Cincinnati -10.5  …… has fallen to a flat -7

Offensive Team Data: Cincinnati: Total Yards, 431 YPG; Passing Yards, 231 YPG;  Rushing Yards, 200 YPG; Scoring Average 31 PPG, Turnovers, 1.58 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 43.5%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 83% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 63%

Offensive Team Data: Duke: Total Yards, 397 YPG; Passing Yards, 278 YPG;  Rushing Yards, 119 YPG; Scoring Average 31 PPG, Turnovers, 1.42 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 33.9%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 85% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 58%

Defensive Team Data: Cincinnati: Total Yards, 374 YPG; Passing Yards, 244 YPG;  Rushing Yards, 130 YPG; Scoring Average 17 PPG, Turnovers, 2.0 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 37.8%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 71% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 41%

Defensive Team Data: Duke: Total Yards, 464 YPG; Passing Yards, 262 YPG;  Rushing Yards, 202 YPG; Scoring Average 35 PPG, Turnovers, 1.92 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 42.4%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 72% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 50%

Sully’s Game Simulator: is a statistical analysis / predictor of how these teams will preform, based solely on their numbers, when they face off on the gridiron! Keep in mind, these stats were established against different teams and conferences and these differences must be taken into account to get a complete picture when attempting to predetermine a winner. If you are interested in how the Simulator works … read this part … if not … skip it! The process used is … we take Duke’s total yards on offense, add it to what Cincinnati gives up on defense, …  get a total and then divide that number by 2 … to get the mean. We then invert the process by taking Cincy’s total offense, add it to what Duke gives up on defense, get a total and divide that number by 2  to get the second mean… the greater number (with the exception of Turnovers) is then determined to have the advantage ( please note …. statistical advantage). We repeat this process in each of the eight statistical categories assessed!  That said… here are the results of the Head to Head Analysis:

Total Yards:  Advantage: Cincinnati 448 to 386

Passing Yards: Advantage: Duke 261 to 247

Rushing Yards: Advantage: Cincinnati 201 to 125

Scoring: Advantage: Cincinnati 31 to 24

Turnovers: Advantage: Duke 1.71 to 1.75

3rd Down Conversions: Advantage: Cincinnati 42.95 to 35.85

Red Zone All Scores: Advantage: Duke 78% to 77.5%

Red Zone TD’s Only: Advantage: Cincinnati 56.5% to 49.5%

Individuals to Watch: Duke’s QB, Sean Renfree has passed for 2755, 18TD’s, 8 INT’s and a 66.3% completion rate; WR, James Crowder 70 receptions for 1025 yards, 8 TD’s and a 14. 6 average per catch & fellow WR, Corner Vernon, who needs 45 yards to top the 1000 yard receiving mark. Cincinnati’s RB, George Winn, who rushed for 1204 yards on 227 carries, for an average of 5.3 yards per carry & 12 TD’s & QB, Brendon Kay, who took over for a struggling Munchie Leguax, in November.

Sully Says: Duke has not gone bowling since 1994 … an 18 year drough …. their record during this time period was 37-158, including winless seasons in 1996, 2000, 2001 & 2006! To say that Duke has stumbled into the post-season in 2011 would be an understatement … as the Blue Devils lost 4 straight to end the season. Cincinnati, which finished the season in a four way tie for the Big East Championship, has been in Bowls 6 of the last seven seasons. Their Coach, Butch Jones, will not lead the Bearcats in the bowl as he has moved on to take the Tennessee job. Texas Tech Coach, Tommy Tuberville, has accepted the the vacated Cincy Position …. but will not coach the team in the bowl game! Defensive line coach, Steve Stripling, will lead the team @ the December 27th event! Sully’s CFP Says …. Cincy is better than Duke … no question …. Cincinnati will win and cover!