Holy sweet suffering saints on the cross: Duke scored 48 points.
It’s not like it hasn’t happened before. In fact, it happened last year, twice. But after losing to Richmond and barely surviving on the road at BC, I was just hoping we could eke out a win against Tulane. Instead, the Devils brought the mollywhomp sticks to Wallace Wade. Renfree threw for 278 yards. The Killer Vs rolled up 168 yards in the air. Will Snyderwine made a field goal.
It was a great win, and after a miserable first two weeks we’re back to .500. 2-2. Before the season, I wrote a joke post where I convinced myself Duke could win a national title. Now, it’s time to get serious and ask a legitimate question: can Duke make a bowl game? This is the next rung on the ladder for a program starting to poke its head up from the bowels of misery.
It’s going to take six wins, which means Duke has to win four of its last eight. Let’s check out the remaining schedule and see what we can sell ourselves.
Every Friday, a group of fearless webmasters and sports fanatics from around the Triangle will gather to predict five college football games against the spread. Every Duke, Carolina, and N.C. State game will be featured, along with a smattering of high profile non-Triangle games. As the season goes along, we’ll keep the standings updated and see who emerges as the one true prophet. Make your predictions in the comment section. Each week, we’ll feature any and all commenters who pick all 5 games correctly.
History is about to be made, my friends. W.A. Erwin is about to ride Tobacco Road again, screaming his pioneering head off. In case you’re not schooled, the Erwin Cup is a brand new competition pitting Duke and UNC athletics against one another in a year-long battle. Points are accrued for rivalry wins, ACC titles, Final Four appearances, and National Championships. The sports are weighted according to importance, ensuring that this is the best and most accurate measure of the rivalry to date. For more info, read up on:
Tomorrow afternoon, at 1pm, it begins. UNC field hockey takes on Duke at Chapel Hill’s Henry Stadium in the first ever Erwin Cup set-to. Points are at stake, baby! The eyes of the world are on us!
If anyone happens to attend this match, or any other, you can achieve instant Tobacco Road Blues notoriety by taking a picture yourself with a sign at the game. It can be home-made, elaborate, or purchased. All we ask is that you have the blog name written somewhere along with the words “Erwin Cup.” Take a picture, send it along, and I will post the hell out of it and write some complimentary words. And you know what? I’ll also name the match after you. BAM! I can do that. Limited time only. Get it while it’s piping.
Am I expecting any blog readers to attend a field hockey match on a college football Saturday? Not necessarily. Am I willing to be surprised? Fuck yes necessarily. So willing. So willing that I just willed myself a daydream about field hockey. At least it started off that way. Turned into a daydream about me and an angry Abe Lincoln beating up some State fans in a parking lot. But there was like a minute or two of field hockey, I swear.
Come Monday, we should have a sweet page for you with a running tally of the Erwin Cup score courtesy of William the Intrepid (Site Designer). After that, we’re straight grooving for the year.
Second-to-last thing: the good folks at Grantland are letting me write a College Football Spectacular every Thursday. It’s a preview of the weekend ahead, it’s fun to write, and I would dearly appreciate y’all’s support. Triangle Prophets coming later.
Last thing: I discovered this song yesterday, and I’ve listened to it basically on repeat. What a chorus. Happy Friday, free souls.
It’s crazy to think of this as a possibility, considering UNC’s ridiculous dominance since the NCAA championship was founded in 1982 (20 of 29 titles), and their uber-ridiculous dominance of Duke (33-2-1 all-time). But there’s a chance that we’re witnessing a changing of the guards. Here’s the evidence:
1. Duke is ranked 4th in the country, while UNC is 5th.
2. UNC needed overtime to beat defending national champion Notre Dame 2-1. Two days later, Duke smoked ’em 3-1.
3. Duke freshman Kelly Cobb (7 goals) looks better than anyone on UNC, including Kealia Ohai.
4. Against four common opponents (Notre Dame, Houston, Texas A&M, UNC-Greensboro), Duke is 4-0 with a +11 goal differential. UNC is 3-1 with a +7 goal differential.
These are just numbers, and nothing really matters until the teams meet in Chapel Hill on October 13, but to see Duke consistently outperform their Tobacco Road brethren is quite a novelty. Looks like I picked a good season to get interested in college soccer.
As we approach the first ever Erwin Cup match, this Saturday between Duke and UNC field hockey, I thought it’d be appropriate to have some coverage. Luckily, in a sports writing class at UNC last year, our professor sent us to interview UNC star Kelsey Kolojejchick. She was the team’s leading scorer, and we talked with her in a facility near their field. This was the result.
The Pride of the Badass
The first thing you notice about sophomore Kelsey Kolojejchick, besides that twisting, impossible name, is her ego.
I still can’t believe this happened. After thoroughly outplaying Boston College on the road, in every facet of the game, Duke was going to break our hearts again. I look at the numbers today, and I can feel the anger from a hypothetical loss welling up. We could have had just our third ACC road win since 2003! We had 465 yards of total offense! The had 328! Renfree set a school record with 40 completions! Thompson averaged five yards a carry! Rettig for BC barely completed half his passes! We held them to 3.2 yards per carry!
CBS Sports and ESPN are saying they’ve applied for entry!
I guess that’s a quick way to solve the basketball strength of the conference. I think this is fantastic. Sound off in the comments, and don’t forget to make your picks with the Triangle Prophets below.
Every Friday, a group of fearless webmasters and sports fanatics from around the Triangle will gather to predict five college football games against the spread. Every Duke, Carolina, and N.C. State game will be featured, along with a smattering of high profile non-Triangle games. As the season goes along, we’ll keep the standings updated and see who emerges as the one true prophet. Make your predictions in the comment section. Every week, we’ll feature any and all commenters who pick all 5 games correctly.
Guess what, folks? We are just ONE WEEK AWAY from the first Erwin Cup showdown! On Saturday, September 24, Duke and UNC meet in field hockey, and the first points in Cup history will be awarded. The excitement is palpable. I might even attend the match. That’s how effing crazy this is getting.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Before we get to the weekend, a quick note from last night. The #5 Duke women are ranked ahead of the Tar Heels, a rare occurrence, and they preserved their lead with a 3-0 win against the College of Charleston last night. Check out the highlights below, including Kelly Cobb’s sixth goal of the season and a nifty header by Natasha Anasi.
Now, then. Here’s what’s on tap for the weekend in Duke and UNC sports:
We’re going real simple this morning. This the is the shock grenade of rivalry questions.
What are the stereotypes of Duke or UNC students? Fans?
Obviously I know many of them, but I have a feeling I’ll be surprised by a few. These can be things you believe, don’t believe, or half believe. Let’s get them all on the record.
