The Duke Blue Devils reached the doorstep of the top 25 in the US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Poll after their Friday victory over the Florida State Seminoles, and fans can add the USA TODAY Sports re-rank to that list.
Paul Myerberg updated his ranking of all 134 FBS teams on Monday, and Duke jumped up nine spots to 28th.
Only the Miami Hurricanes (fifth), Clemson Tigers (eighth), SMU Mustangs (18th), Pittsburgh Panthers (22nd), and Syracuse Orange (26th) finished higher among ACC teams.
In the first year under head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag], the Blue Devils are 6-1 on the strength of their defense. Duke is allowing 4.29 yards per play, the fourth-fewest in the FBS, and is one of four teams surrendering fewer than five yards per pass attempt.
With the Mustangs and the Hurricanes on the schedule for the next two games, a Blue Devils offense averaging 284.3 yards per game in conference play will need to find form quickly. However, a win (or two) could vault them comfortably into the top 25.