Yes, Football: Indiana Vs Duke

Honestly, the only college football game I give a fig about is the New Year’s Eve game from the Cotton Bowl between my beloved Alabama Crimson Tide and the Michigan State Spartans.  Meanwhile, there’s a seemingly unending string of meaningless bowl games to be played before we get to the big game.

As Christopher Gasper noted in the Boston Globe, “’Tis the season for irrelevant and superfluous college football games.”  Gasper compares bowl games to Christmas tree ornaments—you always collect more than you need and piling too many on turns the look from appropriately festive to annoyingly tacky.”  The bowl games have literally been willed into existence. 

Nothing, in my opinion, is tackier than two schools celebrated for their basketball prowess playing in the most famous baseball stadium playing an inconsequential football game.

I’m referring to the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium.  The game will be aired at 3:30 PM on ABC.  As a rabid Duke Basketball fan, I was surprised at Duke’s fairly successful football season. 

Because the time is fast approaching when true college football fans will face desolate Saturdays without their favorite sport, I will tune in to watch the Duke Blue Devils take on the Indiana Hoosiers.

Who will win?  The Hoosiers won their four opening games and lost six games.  Duke won six games to open their season and lost four straight.

PREDICTION:  Duke wins by a basket in the bottom of the 9th inning.

Other games on the slate:

Connecticut vs Marshall 11:00 AM ESPN St. Petersburg Bowl

Miami vs Washington St 2:00 PM CBS Hyundai Sun Bowl

Washington vs Southern Mississippi 2:20 PM ESPN Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl

Tulsa vs Virginia Tech 5:45 PM ESPN Camping World Independence Bowl

UCLA vs Nebraska 9:15 PM ESPN Foster Farms Bowl

That'll do it in Yankee Stadium! Duke 44 Indiana 41! #GoDuke #PinstripeBowl pic.twitter.com/IMhIrumfox

— Duke Football (@Duke_FB) December 27, 2015