As crazy as it might’ve sounded, as many didn’t believe that Duke football was in a good spot to make the ACC Championship Game, there was still a wild scenario in which it could have happened.
It did, and here’s how.
It was interesting to see a breakdown from Ball Durham about what needed to happen, as Duke was in sixth place in the ACC and, with just one more conference game remaining for each team, it didn’t seem very likely.
“Win + Pitt loss + SMU loss OR Win + Pitt loss + UVA loss + UNC win OR Win + Pitt loss + UVA loss + NC State win (if Duke finishes higher than Miami in SportSource Analytics Ranking) Now, if Virginia and SMU both win this weekend, all of this goes out the window. However, there's an actual possibility that a 7-5 Duke football team can make the ACC Championship and potentially the College Football Playoff if a ton of things go right.
“For the sake of argument, let's say that somehow all of this happens, the Blue Devils make the conference title game, and win it. The outrage that would be sparked throughout the media at a 7-5 club possibly being in the CFP would reach a whole new level. But that's a conversation for another time,” Hugh Straine wrote.
While it seemed very unlikely, this is college football we’re talking about. Whenever there’s a chance for something weird to happen in this sport, it often does.
SMU has to be kicking itself in the butt after losing to Cal. It had come back and looked like it was going to win the game, but it didn’t, and as a result, Duke got in.
While it was great to see, there's still no guarantee that Duke will get in if it wins the ACC Title Game, according to Matt Baker of The Athletic.
"Duke’s first appearance in the ACC championship since 2013 opens the door for a disastrous scenario for the conference. The CFP’s protocol does not guarantee a bid to every Power 4 conference. Rather, it reserves a spot for the five top conference champions, regardless of their league. Duke’s resume includes defeats against UConn, Illinois and Tulane.
"If the Blue Devils beat Virginia, the CFP selection committee could snub the ACC’s champion in favor of whoever wins the American Conference (Tulane or North Texas) and James Madison (11-1 entering next week’s Sun Belt championship) for the fourth and fifth automatic bids. The Mountain West’s champion (San Diego State, New Mexico, Boise State or UNLV) could also have a case," he wrote.