The Duke Blue Devils snapped their small losing skid on Saturday in Raleigh, beating the Wolfpack 29-19, and USA TODAY Sports writer Paul Myerberg regained faith in head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] and his roster.
Myerberg updated his ranking of all 134 FBS programs on Monday, and the Blue Devils jumped back within his top 30 after a one-week absence. He moved Duke, now 7-3 for the season, up three spots to 29th.
Diaz won his first five games, the school’s first 5-0 start this century, but three losses in their previous four games had the Blue Devils slipping. However, with Saturday’s win, Duke has now taken down North Carolina and NC State in the same season for the first time since 2013.
While the Blue Devils are in a good spot, the ACC’s playoff chances took a hit when the undefeated Miami Hurricanes lost to Georgia Tech. Myerberg only dropped Miami to ninth, two spots ahead of SMU for the top team in the conference.
Duke gets a bye week in Week 12, and their final two opponents sit outside the top 50 in Myerberg’s rankings (No. 51 Virginia Tech and No. 82 Wake Forest).