USA TODAY Sports’ Erick Smith released his updated bowl projections on Tuesday, and despite a disappointing win over Connecticut on Saturday, Duke football remained in his postseason field.
For the third straight week, Smith paired the Blue Devils with South Florida in the Gasparilla Bowl. The Bulls came within 15 minutes of upsetting the Alabama Crimson Tide in Week 2, having possession while trailing by a single point at the start of the fourth quarter, but four late Alabama touchdowns created a lopsided 42-16 final margin.
The Blue Devils are favored by two touchdowns over Middle Tennessee in Week 4, a win that would improve first-year head coach Manny Diaz to 4-0. ESPN FPI, in turn, thinks Duke has more than a 77% chance to win six games.
Two different ACC teams, the Miami Hurricanes and the Clemson Tigers, made the 12-team College Football Playoff field. Miami clinched a semifinal appearance as the conference champion, but both teams lost their first game in Smith’s projections. A dozen ACC teams made the bowl calendar in total.