Duke Blue Devils now clear favorite to win ACC Coastal

The Duke Blue Devils upset the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Durham Saturday, and in doing so have cleared a major hurdle on their way to achieving ACC relevancy.

The Duke Blue Devils used to be a laughingstock but David Cutcliffe has helped change that reputation ever since he took over as head coach.

Since his arrival, the Blue Devils have become a respectable program, capable of keeping up with the higher level teams in the ACC and even won the Coastal two years ago and he could do it again this year after beating Georgia Tech on Saturday.

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Led by star Jeremy Cash, Duke’s defense dominated the Georgia Tech offense, holding the one of the best rushing teams in the nation to 173 yards on the ground on 2.9 yards a carry. Georgia Tech had averaged around 377 yards rushing per game, second only to Navy. The defense the Blue Devils put on the field so far this season looks like the best defense they’ve had in the Cutcliffe era.

Georgia Tech was considered the heavy favorite to win the ACC Coastal division before the season started, and then they lost two straight to Notre Dame and Duke, effectively flushing their chances at the Playoff and the division title (to a slightly lesser degree) down the drain.

Duke has the benefit of a relatively easy schedule the rest of the way. They should be favorites over both Boston College and Virginia Tech, though the VT game will be a little more of a challenge considering it takes place in Blacksburg. Miami is going to be the toughest challenge for the Blue Devils down the stretch, but so long as they win every other game the rest of the way, the Miami game might not even be a must win if the Hurricanes falter down the stretch.

If that’s the case, Duke will end up in the ACC championship game against either Florida State or Clemson on the strength of the defense that shutdown a potent Tech rushing attack.

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