Duke Nearing a Scenario That Panics the CFP Committee

The Duke Blue Devils will be playing for the ACC Championship on Saturday. The thing is, they will have a lot of people rooting against them. The ACC finds itself in an uncharted position heading into that game.

The Blue Devils are in that game with five losses, but only two in conference play. Duke got in on a lot of different tiebreakers. Some have argued that it is Duke in over teams with the same record but overall better teams. Now Duke is going to be watched closely on Saturday. And by Sunday morning, a lot of different scenarios are going to be talked about if Duke wins Saturday Night.

Nov 8, 2025; East Hartford, Connecticut, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Manny Diaz on the field before the start of the game against the UConn Huskies at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

Duke Ready to Cause Panic for CFP Committee

"The ACC is one bad game away from scrapping with the American and Sun Belt conferences for slots in the CFP," said Jay Busbee of Yahoo Sports. "All due respect to the American and Sun Belt, but they aren’t exactly the conference of Bobby Bowden, Duke-Carolina and The U. (And if you can name all the members of those two conferences off the top of your head, I hope you’re getting paid for your ball knowledge.)"

"Virginia plays Duke this Saturday in the ACC championship, and the entire conference will be rooting so hard for the Cavaliers that Duke might as well be an out-of-conference opponent. The 8-5 Blue Devils managed to win a five-way tiebreaker with Miami, Pitt, Georgia Tech and SMU despite the fact that literally every one of those teams finished with a better overall record than Duke."

Duke Blue Devils head coach Manny Diaz high-fives players Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, during the NCAA football game against the Clemson Tigers at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina. | Alex Martin/Greenville News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"That’s obviously not Duke’s fault; you play the schedule you’re given, and the conference slate broke the Blue Devils’ way. (Tiebreakers in bloated conferences are an offseason matter for discussion.)

"The CFP grants automatic berths to the champions of the five highest-ranked conferences, and the American’s Tulane and North Texas, and the Sun Belt’s James Madison, are all ranked ahead of Duke."

fww — Nov 15, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Virginia Cavaliers defensive back Christian Charles (4) attempts an interception against Duke Blue Devils wide receiver Sahmir Hagans (2) during the first quarter at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

"Every misstep, mistake and missed tournament puts the ACC closer to an oblivion that the SEC and Big Ten simply don’t face. The less notable the ACC is in football conversations, the more likely it slides into irrelevance. Losing a Clemson or a Florida State in itself wouldn’t kill the conference; losing a straightforward pathway into the College Football Playoff just might."

"So while the ACC surely wants all of its teams to perform well on the national stage, you can understand why the conference might be cheering a bit harder for Virginia than Duke this weekend."

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