USA TODAY Sports’ Erick Smith released his updated bowl projections for the 2024 college football season on Tuesday, breaking down which programs he thinks will win six games this fall, and the Blue Devils finally made a projected postseason.
Smith pitted Duke football against the Florida Gators, an SEC powerhouse looking to find a foothold in its third year under head coach Billy Napier, in the Gasparilla Bowl.
Despite winning 17 games over the past two years, the Blue Devils are considered a bubble team for the 2024 bowl schedule. With a new head coach and a first-year starting quarterback, ESPN FPI has Duke’s projected win total at exactly 6.0 games. CBS Sports and Sporting News also released bowl projections over the offseason, neither of which included the Blue Devils, and ESPN Analytics thinks there’s just under a 60% chance that Manny Diaz will finish .500 or better in year one.
Duke begins its march toward bowl season against Elon on Friday.