The Duke Blue Devils improved to 4-0 with a 45-17 victory over Middle Tennessee on Saturday, and in the eyes of USA TODAY Sports’ Craig Meyer, they’re finally one of the 10 best teams in the conference.
Meyer released his updated ACC power rankings on Monday, and he moved Duke up three spots to eighth.
While the ranking still seems low for one of the last four undefeated teams left in the conference, it’s fair to question Duke’s strength of schedule to this point. The Blue Devils’ overtime road victory over Northwestern remains their only win over a Power Four opponent, but a rivalry victory over a reeling North Carolina Tar Heels team would be a major boost.
UNC just gave up 70 points, including 53 in the first half, to James Madison while turning the ball over five times. Head coach Mack Brown, the former boss of Duke coach Manny Diaz, made headlines with his strange postgame speech asking his players if he should step away. It seems like the Blue Devils are well-positioned for their first win over UNC since 2018.
The Miami Hurricanes retained the top spot in Meyer’s rankings after yet another blowout win, this time a 50-15 triumph over South Florida. The Clemson Tigers and the Louisville Cardinals, Miami’s two largest challengers by public consensus, followed in second and third.