With seven wins in their first 10 games of the season, the Blue Devils could really work their way into the prestigious parts of the bowl calendar with another victory or two.
After Duke’s 29-19 victory over the NC State Wolfpack in Week 11, USA TODAY Sports’ Erick Smith pitted the Blue Devils against Minnesota in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on January 3rd in his updated projections on Tuesday.
The Duke’s Mayo Bowl has become something of a crowd favorite in recent years thanks to its zaniness, embracing a jay of mayonnaise named Tubby as a mascot and dunking winning coaches in mayo instead of Gatorade.
The Golden Gophers have also cemented their bowl eligibility with a 6-4 record to start the season, including wins over the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins.
Despite their first loss of the season to Georgia Tech on Saturday, Smith still thinks the Miami Hurricanes end up as the ACC champion in the College Football Playoff. He had Cam Ward and the Hurricanes losing to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the quarterfinals.