The Duke Blue Devils took the weekend off in Week 12, but they still received nine votes in the US LBM Coaches Poll released on Sunday.
In his first season with the program, head coach Manny Diaz has reversed some trends in Durham. He took the school to its first 5-0 start in 30 years, and with Duke’s 20-point comeback over the North Carolina Tar Heels and 29-19 victory over NC State, the Blue Devils swept both of those schools in one season for the first time since 2013.
Duke’s 7-3 record is tied for the fourth-best among ACC teams, and the ESPN Football Power Index gives them more than a 26% chance to sweep Virginia Tech and Wake Forest for a 9-3 regular-season record.
The Miami Hurricanes, also on a bye this weekend, broke back into the top 10 to narrowly remain ahead of the SMU Mustangs (12th) as the top team in the ACC. Should they win out, those two programs would meet in Charlotte for the conference title game, but the Clemson Tigers (16th) await if one of them stumbles along the way. With Louisville losing to Stanford, those are now the only three ranked ACC teams.
Check out the full US LBM Coaches Poll below:
| Rank | Team | Record | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oregon Ducks | 11-0 | 1,375 (55) |
| 2 | Ohio State Buckeyes | 9-1 | 1,316 |
| 3 | Texas Longhorns | 9-1 | 1,263 |
| 4 | Penn State Nittany Lions | 9-1 | 1,158 |
| 5 | Indiana Hoosiers | 10-0 | 1,109 |
| 6 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 9-1 | 1096 |
| 7 | Alabama Crimson Tide | 8-2 | 996 |
| 8 | Georgia Bulldogs | 8-2 | 993 |
| 9 | Ole Miss Rebels | 8-2 | 984 |
| 10 | Miami Hurricanes | 9-1 | 847 |
| 11 | Tennessee Volunteers | 8-2 | 823 |
| 12 | SMU Mustangs | 9-1 | 744 |
| 13 | Boise State Broncos | 9-1 | 714 |
| 14 | Texas A&M Aggies | 8-2 | 646 |
| 15 | BYU Cougars | 9-1 | 633 |
| 16 | Clemson Tigers | 8-2 | 569 |
| 17 | Army Black Knights | 9-0 | 509 |
| 18 | Colorado Buffaloes | 8-2 | 464 |
| 19 | South Carolina Gamecocks | 7-3 | 379 |
| 20 | Tulane Green Wave | 9-2 | 280 |
| 21 | Iowa State Cyclones | 8-2 | 268 |
| 22 | Arizona State Sun Devils | 8-2 | 251 |
| 23 | UNLV Rebels | 8-2 | 93 |
| 24 | Memphis Tigers | 9-2 | 77 |
| 25 | Kansas State Wildcats | 7-3 | 67 |
Dropped Out
No. 18 Washington State; No. 21 Missouri; No. 22 LSU; No. 24 Louisville
Receiving Votes
Washington State 65; Illinois 56; Missouri 44; Syracuse 18; James Madison 11; Duke 9; Pittsburgh 7; Louisiana 5; Louisville 2; Vanderbilt 1; Sam Houston 1; LSU 1; Colorado State 1