USA TODAY Sports’ Erick Smith updated his college football bowl projections on Tuesday, and he pitted the Blue Devils against a former heavyweight in the now-decimated Pac-12 Conference.
Smith put Duke in the Holiday Bowl alongside the Utah Utes, now a member of the Big 12.
With head coach Kyle Whittingham at the helm since 2005, Utah won the Pac-12 title game in 2021 and 2022 before joining its new conference. The Utes entered the 2024 season as the Big 12 favorites, but veteran starter Cam Rising continues to deal with injuries as he’s thrown just 66 passes. Utah lost its last two games to Arizona and Arizona State to fall behind the pace.
As has been the case for most of Smith’s projections this season, the Miami Hurricanes and Clemson Tigers are the only ACC teams in his College Football Playoff field. However, instead of rolling with the undefeated Hurricanes, Smith thinks Clemson will storm back to win the conference and clinch the first-round bye.
The North Carolina Tar Heels, now riding a four-game losing streak, were absent from Smith’s projected postseason field.