Before anyone thinks I am getting too far ahead of myself with this post, I really don’t think the chances of Duke winning three more games and becoming bowl eligibility is very good.
That being said they certainly have given me reason to believe that they at least have a chance if all the pieces fall into place and they get a little bit lucky for a change.
The Blue Devils are coming off their third straight victory and head into a bye week with time to rest, recover and prepare for an up coming showdown with Florida State.
Duke has gotten better but it is likely to take more than a bye week and some recovered players to have a shot against the likes of the Seminoles.
But the Blue Devils don’t have to beat Florida State to become bowl eligible, they only have to find three more wins among its remaining seven games.
There are certainly games left that Duke has a very good chance of winning and drawing closer to that magic number. After the Florida State game Duke will square off with the first of it most winnable games: Wake Forest.
The Demon Deacons though have been a thorn in the side of the Blue Devils for a better part of the last decade. In fact it has been longer than a decade, 11 years to be exact, since Blue Devils have beaten their rivals from the Atlantic Division.
If Duke is going to have any shot at bowl eligibility then the first obstacle is Wake Forest.
Beyond that the Blue Devil’s job doesn’t get any easier.
Next up would be Virginia Tech, and that is more than likely a loss for the Blue Devils. Then comes Miami who is struggling in the first year under new head coach Al Golden.
Duke can certainly contend in that game, but likely wont be favored since the game is played in Miami. This is probably the best shot the Blue Devils have at pulling off a necessary upset.
Beyond that Duke travels to Charlottesville to take on Virginia where they will try to beat the Cavaliers for the fourth straight time. That is certainly not going to be an easy task as Virginia will be chomping at the bit to get back at Duke for the last three years.
So the best chances Duke has at winning three games come against Wake at home and Virginia and Miami on the road. The Blue Devils finish the season at home against Georgia Tech who is looking like they are several steps above Duke this season.
The season finale will be against archrival North Carolina who has owned the Duke series winning 20 of the last 21 meetings. While the games are always intense the Blue Devils just haven’t had any luck against the Tar Heels.
There is a chance that Duke’s bowl chances come down to that final match up but if they do, expect even more pressure on the young Blue Devils.
Bowl eligibility is within reach but Duke had the chance in 2009 with a much more experienced team and didn’t get it done, falling short by one game.
The probability is not good and if I were a betting man I wouldn’t bet for it but that doesn’t stop me from hoping and pulling for it to happen.
If it were to happen it would be a major step toward the establishment of the Duke Football program and further validation that David Cutcliffe was and is the right choice as coach. Even if some Duke fans (not us here at the Duke Sports Blog) were losing faith after the season opening loss to Richmond.
There is still a lot of season left and a lot of good and bad things could still happen, but the fact that Duke Basketball practice kicks off in just over a week and fans are still talking about football is a very good sign.
