Why Duke Reaching the ACC Championship Still Surprises People

The Duke Blue Devils are a team that did not make it to the ACC Championship game by accident. They are a team that has bounced back this season after having some downs, and they never blinked. They would just get back to work each week and make sure they fixed their mistakes and were giving everything they had to put the team first and put the team in the best position to be successful.

They played whoever was on their schedule, and there was no way you could overlook that and say they were lucky or something else. This Duke team earned their way in, and other teams had their chance and did not handle their business. That was out of Duke's control, but they handled their business and let the rest fall into place.

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

Duke’s path to the ACC championship game

"Coming off a 9–4 season and a Gator Bowl appearance in the first year of the Manny Diaz era, Duke started the 2025 campaign 1–2 with losses to No. 11 Illinois and Tulane. They rattled off three wins to start conference play a perfect 3–0, before dropping three contests in a four-week span to No. 12 Georgia Tech, UConn and No. 19 Virginia," said Tom Dierberger of Sports Illustrated.

Sep 18, 2021; Durham, North Carolina, USA; A Duke Blue Devils helmet sits on an equipment box during the fourth quarter at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Howard-Imagn Images | William Howard-Imagn Images

"With two weeks to go, Duke needed everything to go in its favor to have a shot at the ACC title game. And boy, did it ever. The Blue Devils beat North Carolina by a touchdown on Nov. 22, and last weekend unfolded exactly how they needed it to go: a 49–32 win over Wake Forest combined with Pitt losing 38–7 to Miami and SMU dropping a 38–35 nail-biter to Cal."

There were a lot of different tiebreakers that went the Blue Devils way.

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

Due to the lack of common opponents for those five teams in the 17-team ACC, the tiebreaker to decide Virginia’s adversary came down to the fifth piece of criteria.It reads:

Duke was aided here by playing the toughest conference schedule among the five 6–2 teams. The Blue Devils’ eight conference opponents combined for a 32–32 record (.500), which beats the win percentage of opponents for Miami (28–36; .438), Georgia Tech (28–36; .438), SMU (27–37; .422) and Pitt (27–37; .422).

Nov 29, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils running back Anderson Castle (4) scores a 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

The five automatic bids go to the five highest-ranked conference champions. If Duke wins the ACC title game and No. 25 James Madison (11–1) tops Troy on Friday night in the Sun Belt championship, the Dukes—not Duke—will likely get in as one of the five highest-ranked conference champions behind the winners of the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12 and American conferences.

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