Duke Football on outside looking in of latest ESPN bowl projections
The Duke Football team is now on the outside looking in of the latest ESPN bowl projections after suffering another loss, this time at the hands of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Losers of three straight games and four of its last five, the Duke Blue Devils are firmly on the outside looking in of the ESPN bowl game projections.
The latest loss came at home to the hands of the No. 15 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 38-7 and it was the third time this year that Duke lost by at least 30 points.
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Duke’s previous two losses came on the road against the Virginia Cavaliers and the North Carolina Tar Heels, the loss to the Cavs being by 34 points and losing on a miserable failed trick play at the goal line to the Tar Heels.
After an opening day loss to the then No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide, a loss by 39 points, Duke won three games in a row, two coming against non-Power 5 teams in North Carolina A&T and Middle Tennessee State.
The Blue Devils then went on the road to destroy Virginia Tech, winning 45-10, but turnovers and not being able to get a stop in the final minute of the game sunk Duke at home against Pittsburgh, a game in hindsight this team desperately needed.
Duke responded with a beat down of Georgia Tech, but since that 41-23 win on October 12, Duke has not won a game and at 4-5 on the season, the Blue Devils will need to win two of its last three to become bowl eligible.
ESPN College Football analysts Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach did not have Duke in their early season bowl projections but as the season wore on and the Blue Devils started to win, David Cutcliffe‘s team seemed destined for a bowl until its recent losing streak where the offense has looked lifeless and defense called upon far too often in each game.
Duke will try and respond and get back in the win column on Saturday as the Blue Devils will host the struggling Syracuse Orange at Wallace Wade Stadium on November 16 with a 4:00pm EST kickoff time on the ACC Network.