After beating the Florida State Seminoles for the first time ever on Friday night, the Duke Blue Devils only need to pass four more teams to reach the top 25 of the AP Poll.
The Associated Press released its updated rankings for Week 9 on Sunday, and the Blue Devils received two votes across all ballots. Among teams outside of the rankings, only Washington State, Syracuse, and UNLV received more, making Duke the unofficial No. 29 team.
Through seven games in the Manny Diaz era, the Blue Devils have six wins after the FSU victory and a 20-point comeback against the North Carolina Tar Heels. Duke also overcame second-half deficits against Northwestern and Connecticut.
The same four ACC teams remained inside the top 25 after eight weeks of the season. The Miami Hurricanes (sixth) and Clemson Tigers (ninth) appear destined for a battle in the conference championship game, but the Pittsburgh Panthers (19th) and SMU Mustangs (22nd) have a combined 12-1 record with no ACC losses.