Duke football: Blue Devils are one step from a giant leap

One step. The Duke Blue Devils are just one step away from becoming bowl eligible. A win over Boston College Friday night is all that is needed. It would be one step for this Blue Devils’ team and one giant leap for first-year head coach Mike Elko’s Duke football program.

What it means

Sure, this giant leap won’t quite have the same impact as the one ol’ Neil made when he put’er down on the moon and let us all know it is made out of a lot of dust and rocks and not cheese. But make no mistake, this giant leap will definitely make an impact on Duke football-a program that went 3-9 last season and won just ten games over three years.

The biggest impact it will make is in player development. Bowl teams get fifteen extra practices. Most of those sessions are treated almost like spring practice, where work will be done with younger players on technique and skill development. The effect will be long term, but there is a possibility it can show up almost immediately, because there are times younger guys look like a different player in the bowl game.

It is also going to impact recruiting. It is a lot easier to move towards the front of the line with a recruit when you can show you’re a successful program. Recruits want exposure and going to a bowl game provides just that.

More than one chance

The Blue Devils have four games remaining. After BC, there is Virginia Tech, Pitt, and Wake Forest. Even with an improbable loss to the Eagles this week, there is still time to clinch a holiday trip to an extra game. Although Virginia Tech is 2-7 and lost five straight, hapless Boston College is probably going to offer the least resistance. In their last three games, which were all losses, they’ve managed only two touchdowns and scored a grand total of just twenty-one points. Mike Elko’s team needs to take care of business by putting away BC, so they can focus on closing out the season strong over those final three games.

There is still the matter of getting that sixth win, so I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself. But you almost can’t help but take a peek at which bowl the Blue Devils might end up attending. One prediction has them in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas on December 30th against Oregon State. Another puts them in the Pinstripe Bowl against Minnesota at Yankee Stadium on December 29th. Duke has not gone to a bowl since 2018 when they played in the Independence bowl.