Duke Football Advances to ACC Championship Game

In his second season at the helm in Durham, Manny Diaz is unexpectedly taking the Blue Devils to Charlotte, despite finishing the regular season with a 7-5 record.

The Blue Devils will face No. 17 Virginia, which beat Duke 34-17 in Durham a few weeks ago. Darian Mensah and the offense had a tough night, while the Blue Devils couldn't get any stops defensively.

On Saturday, Duke took care of business at home against Wake Forest, winning 49-32, to keep its hopes alive for a title game bid. Miami also dismantled Pittsburgh, 38-7, to create a route for the Blue Devils.

Later in the evening, Cal's stunning upset of SMU clinched a spot for the Blue Devils in the championship game.

It will be the second-ever appearance in the ACC Championship for Duke, which fell to Florida State 49-7 back in 2013. Virginia is also making its second appearance after losing to Clemson in 2019, 62-17. For the first time since 2021, the ACC will have a first-time champion.

Duke has won eight prior ACC titles, but never in the conference championship game. The last title for the program came in 1989 under the leadership of coach Steve Spurrier.

The run to the ACC title game is unprecedented for a number of reasons. The one that stands out, however, is Duke's five losses. The Blue Devils lost non-conference games to Illinois, Tulane and UConn. However, Duke only had two conference losses, which came against Virginia and Georgia Tech.

The Blue Devils wound up winning the tiebreaker against Miami, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh and SMU based on conference opponent win percentage.

Duke has not been ranked in the AP Poll or College Football Playoff rankings at any point this season. If Duke were to find a way to win the conference title, there is no guarantee that the Blue Devils would make the playoff.

The College Football Playoff bracket issues automatic bids to the five highest-ranked conference champions. If Duke were to win the ACC, it might not be one of those five. Hypothetically, if Tulane or North Texas were to win the American Conference and James Madison were to win the Sun Belt, the Group of Five could get two teams in over the ACC champion.

That decision would be up to the selection committee and would surely stir up plenty of controversy either way. Time will tell if Duke does have a chance to crash the playoff bracket. But first, the Blue Devils have to avenge their loss against the Cavaliers.

Duke will meet Virginia in Charlotte at Bank of America Stadium on Dec. 6 at 8 p.m. EST. The game will air on ABC.

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