Miami Hurricanes: Russell Athletic Bowl-Bound

After what appears to be a little meddling by the ACC’s head honcho, the Miami Hurricanes are headed to Orlando instead of Atlanta.

Rumor has it ACC commissioner John Swofford lobbied the Chick-fil-A Bowl to select the Duke Blue Devils over the Miami Hurricanes, in order to keep the Coastal Champions from falling to a much less desirable game.

Had Miami been Atlanta-bound, Virginia Tech would’ve likely wound up in the Russell Athletic Bowl, while Duke would’ve slipped all the way to the Belk Bowl in Charlotte, where they’d have taken on the Cincinnati Bearcats.

For those who see Swofford’s actions as meddling, in reality it paints the conference president in a positive light. After topping both Virginia Tech and Miami in an unprecedented 10-win season, Duke deserves better than getting leapfrogged by programs with bigger football names.

This is the same Swofford that went to bat for Miami during the NCAA investigation and he’s now said to be taking up for another team with in his conference—a deserving squad, no less. That deserves kudos, not criticism.

As a result, Miami now gets a crack at Teddy Bridgewater and the Louisville Cardinals as the Hurricanes will play their first bowl game since the 2010 season.

The Russell Athletic Bowl takes place on Saturday December 28th at 6:45 p.m. ET at the Citrus Bowl. Most-recently known as the Champs Sports Bowl, this was originally the Blockbuster, Carquest, MicronPC and Mazda Bowl, between 1990 and 2011.

The Hurricanes last appearance in the Champs Sports Bowl game in 2009 when a 9-3 Miami squad fell to Wisconsin, 20-14.

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8 thoughts on “Miami Hurricanes: Russell Athletic Bowl-Bound

  1. I can respect Swofford going to bat for Duke in the Chik-Fil-A bowl…but NO ONE is going to watch it now. Texas A&M probably doesn’t want to be there. At least if it was Miami you would have had an interesting game name wise. Love or hate UM, one cannot argue that they bring in ratings. This bowl games are about ticket sales and tv ratings and Duke isn’t really known for traveling well. Miami may not sell out for a ton of home games, but the Hurricane fan base is spread out nationwide and I know myself that there would have been a large number of Cane fans making their way to Atlanta. Anyways, here’s to hoping Miami beats Louisville in Orlando.

    1. … people will watch for the Manziel factor, but the ratings would’ve been huge if it were Miami instead of Duke. Of course.

      Still, Swofford did the right thing. His job is to protect the best interest of the programs in his conference and Duke is a heavy hitter, as this was always a basketball conference. Don’t want to piss off the Blue Devils. Savvy move on his part. What does he care about the Chick-fil-A Bowl’s viewership? His job is to make Duke happy and I’m sure the brass at Miami and Virginia Tech have no issue with the move, being that the Canes and Hokies lost to the Blue Devils.

      As for ticket sales, the CFA bowl is already sold out, so it wasn’t about traveling or bringing fans. Viewership won’t be what it could’ve been, but ticket sales won’t be impacted.

  2. Word I was seeing on twitter was the the CFA bowl officials didnt want to take Duke because of their lousy attendance at the ACC championship game in Charlotte, that is only 2 hours and some change away from Durham, NC. I bet the game will be 85/15 Tx A&M to Duke fans

    1. … the game had been sold out for months now, so attendance wasn’t the big deal—it was all about TV.

      The most-viewed Chick-fil-A / Peach Bowl in history was the 2005 showdown between Miami and LSU. Couple that with the fact that some of ESPN’s most-watch college football games are Miami vs. Florida State (1994, 2006) and Miami v. Florida (2008) and they know the Canes are the x-factor.

      Toss in Johnny Football, who folks love or hate, and it’d have been an intriguing match-up. Alas, not meant to be and Duke deserves to be there. Glad that TV didn’t supersede the “right” thing happening, but OF COURSE the one time that’s the case, it’s at Miami’s expense.

    2. Everyone must realize it’s all about money. Why do teams like Penn State, OSU, Michigan, ND, Oregon, Tennessee, Auburn and Alabama continue to get the best bowls? Because the Bowl Selection Committee want every seat filled. Granted the teams I listed are generally successful but the fact is it’s all about money.

      1. … it’s all about the money, which is actually why I respect what ACC commissioner John Swofford did here.

        Would’ve been VERY easy to let the Chick-fil-A Bowl pick the Canes, who are a MUCH bigger TV draw. The game was already sold out, so it wasn’t about traveling or filling seats. Pitting Miami against Texas A&M would’ve been a “sexy” match-up.

        That said, letting Duke fall to the Belk Bowl while Miami went to the Chick-fil-A Bowl and Virginia Tech to the Russell Athletic Bowl? That wouldn’t have been fair. Not when the Blue Devils just put together a dream season.

        This was actually a case where there was some integrity in college football. Miami got a little burned with a “lesser” bowl, but justice was served. The Canes will play in-state and the Blue Devils earned a deserved match-up. I’m cool with that.

        But yes, it’s ALL about the money in college football … NFL … sports … film … music … entertainment. Always. Everywhere. Driving force for just about everything.

  3. I was at Wisconsin game and saw Miami RB Berry(?) blow out his knee
    the grass field was awful……. it was cold and that group of canes didn’t really show up and it was amazing we still had a shot on our last possession
    think we will be healthy and rested and look for a lot of new blood on d-line to play

    1. … Graig Cooper blew his knee out that game, but thankfully the old field has been torn up and new grass has since been laid.

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