ESPN’s Bill Connelly released an updated SP+ ranking of FBS college football teams on Tuesday, an update after spring practices.
In the 134-team rankings, the Blue Devils came in 47th. The ranking left Duke football three spots ahead of the North Carolina Tar Heels, who slotted in at 50th.
The SP+ rankings include offensive and defensive metrics. The Blue Devils checked in a little below the median offensively with the 70th-best grade, but the 34th-ranked defense and a top-20 special teams unit pulled the average up.
The ranking made Duke the eighth-best team in the expanded ACC, according to the preseason math. Florida State, who went undefeated through the regular season en route to last year’s ACC title, came in with the highest grade at 12th overall.
However, even though they were ahead of the Tar Heels, the Blue Devils weren’t the best team in the state. The NC State Wolfpack came in 29th.
The first year of the Manny Diaz era starts on Friday, Aug. 30, against Elon.