The Duke Blue Devils start a new era in 2024, but the college football world remains a little lukewarm on the Manny Diaz era.
CBS Sports updated its projected bowl schedule last week, and despite nearly a dozen ACC teams reaching the six-win barrier, the Blue Devils remained absent from the field.
Two teams from the conference, Florida State and Miami, both made the College Football Playoff in the projection. Clemson, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, NC State, Louisville, SMU, Boston College, Pittsburgh, and Wake Forest all made bowl games, but the Blue Devils did not.
As a reminder, the Panthers and Demon Deacons combined for three conference victories and seven total wins in 2023. Duke won 17 games over the past two seasons.
The Blue Devils bring a new head coach and a new starting quarterback to Wallace Wade Stadium this fall, but Diaz led some of the country’s best defenses at Penn State over the last two years and wide receiver Jordan Moore received ACC Preseason Player of the Year votes.