The Duke Blue Devils gave up two fourth-quarter touchdowns to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Saturday, falling short 24-14 and failing to clinch a perfect 6-0 start.
The ESPN Football Power Index didn’t punish first-year head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] and his team much for the loss, however. The popular formula dropped the Blue Devils down four spots to 63rd in the country after Week 6.
The loss did boot Duke out of the top 10 teams in the ACC, however. Syracuse and Virginia jumped over the Blue Devils after the Orange beat a ranked UNLV team and the Cavaliers took down Boston College.
If there’s a silver lining, however, the North Carolina Tar Heels dropped down to 65th after their third straight loss, a 34-24 defeat at the hands of Pittsburgh.
ESPN Analytics still isn’t worried about Duke’s chances to make the postseason, however. As of Monday, FPI gives Diaz a 96% chance to win a sixth game at some point this season, and Duke’s expected win total now sits at 7.5.
The Blue Devils get a bye week before hosting the Florida State Seminoles on Friday, October 18.