Duke Football: Blue Devils have found consistency in ACC

Schedule and prediction

This schedule is pretty friendly, at least as the ACC goes. The non-conference portion isn’t too bad, though there are some tricky matchups. Army is never fun, but having a whole summer to prepare for the option will help.

Road trips to Northwestern and Baylor are tough too, but not impossible. Duke could easily be 4-0 heading into ACC play. Virginia Tech will be a huge challenge, and I don’t think Duke will win it, but not having to go to Lane Stadium will help.

October should be a 3-0 stretch for the Blue Devils. Virginia will be tough, and road games at Georgia Tech and Pitt aren’t cake walks, but I think this team will be hitting their stride at that point.

That means Duke would likely be 7-1 heading into a huge matchup at Miami. I think that game, and the game against Virginia Tech will determine the ACC coastal winner. For the sake of likelihood, Miami probably wins this game.

North Carolina and Wake Forest should also be wins, meaning that the Clemson loss will put Duke at 9-3.

Prediction: 9-3

This is a really good season for Duke. The talent is there for this to happen, and if the young guys live up to their potential, this might be a low prediction. However, the big three of Tech, Miami and Clemson are really, really rough. I don’t see any way Duke doesn’t lose at least two of those three.

Next: Preseason Top 25 following spring practices

While this would likely mean no ACC title game, this does probably mean a good bowl. The Bell Bowl could be a good look for this group, and another achievement for Cutcliffe, at one of the toughest jobs in the country.