Manny Diaz Believes Duke Belongs in College Football Playoff

This is not where Duke is supposed to be. With a 7-5 record, Duke just eked out bowl eligibility and survived a pair of ugly losses to somehow land a spot in the ACC title game.

Duke pulled off a 49-32 victory over Wake Forest on senior day in Durham to round out the regular season. Then, the Blue Devils got some help courtesy of Miami's win over Pitt and Cal's last-second upset of SMU.

Nov 29, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Manny Diaz looks on against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons during the fourth quarter at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

That created a five-way tie for second place in the ACC, which the Blue Devils came out on top of by virtue of playing a tougher conference schedule than the rest.

It's an odd way to settle a tie, but it benefits Duke and provides one last chance for the Blue Devils to play with a national spotlight and a chance to crash the College Football Playoff.

Nov 15, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils quarter back Darian Mensah (10) drops back for a pass against Virginia Cavaliers defensive lineman Jacob Holmes (23) during the first quarter at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

However, that is not guaranteed. Even if Duke were to beat Virginia on Saturday, the Blue Devils could finish the season behind two other ranked conference champions. The biggest threats are the winner of the American (Tulane or North Texas) and James Madison winning the Sun Belt.

That would leave the selection committee with a decision: allow Duke to jump the line and steal the final automatic bid, or leave the ACC out of the playoff altogether.

Duke coach Manny Diaz doesn't see why there should be any debate.

What Manny Diaz Had To Say

Oct 18, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Manny Diaz looks on during the first half of the game against Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

Diaz spoke on Sunday and "absolutely" believes his Blue Devils deserve a spot in the bracket with a conference championship win.

"We have five losses, and we wish we'd played better in those games," Diaz said. "But we lost to two 10-win teams, two nine-win teams and an eight-win team. Records have a lot to do with schedules."

Nov 29, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils running back Nate Sheppard (20) runs the ball against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons during the fourth quarter at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

The Blue Devils finished 6-2 in ACC play, but really struggled out of conference. Duke lost in ugly fashion at home to Illinois and fell on the road in games against Tulane and UConn.

Diaz argued that the program's willingness to schedule a tough non-conference slate and travel for those games shouldn't be punished and should be valued more than the wins Duke does have.

Nov 29, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils running back Anderson Castle (4) celebrates a touchdown during the third quarter against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

"If that's the issue, that'll just never happen again," Diaz said. "The argument that a Group of 5 team should be in the playoff at the ACC's expense, you can forget about ever booking a home-and-home and encouraging teams to play good competition at home and away. We could've just scheduled better and gotten nine wins."

Diaz did admit that following Duke's 34-17 loss at home to Virginia, he felt the team's chances to reach the conference title game were out of reach. The Cavaliers got tons of pressure on quarterback Darian Mensah, and the defense had no answer for Virginia's running game.

Nov 29, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Manny Diaz celebrates Duke Blue Devils quarter back Darian Mensah's (10) touchdown against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons during the second quarter at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

"That was by far, I felt, the worst game we played this year," Diaz said. "But I feel like when people say that, you're not giving Virginia credit. I thought Virginia was outstanding that night."

With a second shot at the Cavaliers coming in Charlotte, Diaz hopes his team can rebound and put together a better performance.

Nov 29, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils wide receiver Sahmir Hagans (2) celebrates with tight end Jeremiah Hasley (85) after scoring a touchdown against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons during the third quarter at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

"I think the big thing with our guys is just play better," he said. "Like I said, Virginia had a lot to do with that, but I just feel like we played poorly that night. And so we'll just be looking to try to present a much better version of ourselves than we did on that occasion."

While Diaz is solely focused on Saturday's championship fight, he has to reason for his team to earn a place in the playoff bracket. As a power conference champion, Duke should at least slip into the 12-seed. Whether Duke can actually pull off the win is a different story. But if it can, why keep the Blue Devils out?

Nov 15, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Manny Diaz reacts during the third quarter against the Virginia Cavaliers at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

"Who we've played has been difficult, and we've learned through those losses to become a team that absolutely is worthy of being in Charlotte on Saturday night, and whatever happens beyond that."

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