The Duke Blue Devils already have six wins in 2024, so the only question about the upcoming bowl schedule is where they will go and who they will play. And the latest projections from USA TODAY Sports have quite the matchup for head coach Manny Diaz.
According to Erick Smith on Tuesday, the Blue Devils drew the Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes in the Holiday Bowl, which is scheduled for December 27 in San Diego, California.
Sanders, in his second season at the helm of the Colorado program, has the Buffaloes rolling. They’ve won five of their first seven games, including a dramatic overtime victory over Baylor that included a game-tying Hail Mary on the final play of regulation. Two-way star Travis Hunter is a Heisman contender with 51 receptions for 604 yards and six touchdowns as a wideout and two interceptions and a forced fumble on defense, and quarterback Shedeur Sanders is fifth among FBS quarterbacks in both passing yards (2,268) and passing touchdowns (19).
The Blue Devils would provide a worthy challenge for Sanders and the Colorado passing attack. Duke is surrendering 4.9 yards per attempt through the air, one of four defenses in the country averaging fewer than five yards per throw.
Smith also had the Miami Hurricanes and Clemson Tigers making the College Football Playoff from the ACC, but he actually thinks that Dabo Swinney and the Tigers win the conference and earn the first-round bye despite Miami being the undefeated team right now.