The Duke Blue Devils received two votes in the updated AP Top 25 College Football Poll on Sunday, one more than they did last week.
Head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] and his players got a weekend off after defeating the NC State Wolfpack last Saturday, improving Duke’s record to 7-3 for the season and 3-3 against ACC opponents. In Diaz’s first season with the program, the Blue Devils got off to their first 5-0 start since 1994 and defeated the Wolfpack and the North Carolina Tar Heels in the same year for the first time since 2013.
With Louisville’s last-second loss to Stanford, only three teams from the ACC remained within the top 25 after Week 12. The Miami Hurricanes (11th) and SMU Mustangs (13th) seem destined for a clash in the conference championship game with a place in the College Football Playoff on the line.
However, if Miami loses once or the Mustangs lose twice, the Clemson Tigers (17th) would slide into place as a potential challenger.
The top five teams remained unchanged with the Oregon Ducks remaining atop the nation despite only beating the Wisconsin Badgers by three points. With their two votes, the Blue Devils unofficially sit in a tie for 35th with Colorado State and James Madison.