Duke-UNC winner will have many bowl possibilities

Either Duke or North Carolina will be one win away from bowl eligibility after Saturday's game in Chapel Hill.

Given the number of bowl tie-ins (nine) for the ACC and the number of likely bowl eligible teams (seven or eight), "bowl eligible" equals "bowl bid" this season. The question is, where would Saturday's winner end up?

The logical answer is Charlotte, of course. But there are a ton of variables - getting a seventh win being foremost - before either team can pack its bags for the Meineke Bowl on Dec. 26 at Bank of America Stadium.

Bowl machinations are never easy; they make Bernie Madoff's 1040 tax form look like the directions on the back of a shampoo bottle, but the first piece of the ACC bowl puzzle will be determined by whoever wins the Atlantic Division.

If Clemson (3-2 in ACC games) or Florida State (2-3) wins the Atlantic, Nashville's Music City Bowl on Dec. 27 would be an option for either Duke or Carolina. If Boston College (3-2) wins the Atlantic, Nashville would be off the board, and the Blue Devils or Tar Heels' choices would be limited to Charlotte (sixth in the bowl order) or San Francisco's Emerald Bowl (seventh in the order) on Dec. 26.

If you have an eraser, you can pencil in the top four spots to Georgia Tech (Orange), Virginia Tech (Chick-fil-A), Miami (Gator) and either Clemson or FSU (Champs).

The Music City Bowl chooses fifth, and if the Eagles win the Atlantic, by ACC rule, Nashville would have to take them. Nashville officials would rather have UNC, to go against Tennessee from the SEC. They would also jump at Duke-Tennessee, which would put Duke coach David Cutcliffe against his former team.

If Boston College, which is already bowl eligible, doesn't win the Atlantic, it would almost certainly be shipped to San Francisco.

There's a possibility Duke could face East Carolina at the EagleBank Bowl in Washington, but that matchup would need a series of dominoes to fall, including the elimination of ECU (5-3, 4-1 CUSA) from Conference USA's East Division race, before it can become a reality.

Duke or Carolina likely will avoid a trip to the ACC's ninth tie-in, the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala., on Jan. 6.

After an 0-3 ACC start, UNC will take any bowl bid, but after playing in Charlotte last year and on its two most recent bowl appearances (including a 2004 trip to Charlotte), the Heels would prefer a trip outside the state borders. Again, depending on BC, that would leave either Nashville or San Francisco.

Duke hasn't played in a bowl since 1994, and only two in the past 49 years, so the Devils won't be choosy. Charlotte officials would opt for Duke over Boston College in a heartbeat, though, given Duke's bowl drought and BC's inability to sell tickets.

The only thing we know for sure is the picture will be clearer after Saturday.

Easy does it

Duke coach David Cutcliffe spoke openly about the program's goal of playing in a bowl during the preseason. Even after Duke's season-opening loss to Richmond, Cutcliffe didn't back down from his stated goal.

After three straight ACC wins, the Blue Devils are 5-3 and two wins away from playing in their first bowl since the 1994 season. The second-year coach said he doesn't talk about a bowl game with his players every day, because he doesn't have to.

"Shoot, these players, they've got bowl game in the back of their mind," Cutcliffe said Wednesday. "They realize both teams are fighting for the same carrot, and to me that makes it a whole lot more fun."

Duke has certainly taken the road less traveled to bowl eligibility. The Devils lost to a lower-level Division I program on its schedule (Richmond) and put the built-in obstacle of playing a "transitional" Division I opponent, N.C. Central, on their schedule.

Because of NCCU's move from Division II to Division I, and the limited number of scholarships it grants, the NCAA doesn't count Duke's 49-14 win over N.C. Central toward bowl eligibility.

That means Duke needs two more wins to qualify for a bowl. The Devils have UNC, Georgia Tech, Miami and Wake Forest remaining. The easiest path would be to beat UNC and then Wake Forest at home in the finale, but as we've learned, nothing Duke does in football - even scheduling - is easy.

Here we go again

Virginia (3-5) hasn't posted consecutive losing seasons since 1981, the final season for Dick Bestwick, and 1982, the first for George Welsh. A home loss to Duke and the prospect of another losing season has coach Al Groh back on his familiar hot seat.

A portion of the UVa fan base yearns for Tommy Tuberville, the unemployed former Auburn coach, but there are two younger, cheaper and equally viable candidates closer to the program - Temple coach Al Golden and Richmond coach Mike London.

Golden worked for both Welsh and Groh at UVa. Temple may be the toughest college football job outside of Duke, and Golden has the Owls (6-2) in first place in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. In his fourth season, the 40-year-old Golden has gradually improved the Owls from one win in 2006, to four in '07 and five last year. If you can win at Temple, you can win anywhere.

But Golden might be the second choice among former Groh assistants. London, 49, led Richmond to the 2008 FCS national title, and the Spiders (8-0) are ranked No. 1 in this week's top 25. London also did something this season Groh hasn't done since 2007 -- beat Duke.

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