The Duke football program once again missed out on a key opportunity to add a marquee win to the resume, but folded once again, this time falling to No. 19 Virginia 34-17. The Blue Devils are now 0-3 against ranked opponents at home this season, and their ACC Championship odds have completely plummeted. Before Duke's loss to UConn, it was the favorite to win the ACC Championship game at +240. Even after an upset loss to the Huskies, Duke was still 4-1 in conference play and the second-favorite to win the conference title game. Now, all hope is lost.
Duke was given opportunity after opportunity to stack good wins and bring the first ACC crown to Durham since 1989. Now at 5-5 on the season and 4-2 in conference play, any hope is likely gone. The Blue Devils will finish the season at North Carolina and vs. Wake Forest, meaning there are no more opportunities for the program to add a solid win.
Duke football's ACC Championship odds drop off a cliff following loss to Virginia
Following the disappointing defeat to the Cavaliers, Duke has now dropped to the sixth-best odds to win the ACC Championship game at +10000 per FanDuel, just two weeks after being the favorite.
ACC Championship Game Winner Odds:
Georgia Tech: +165
Virginia: +240
SMU: +300
Miami: +800
Pittsburgh: +1000
Duke: +10000
Over the entire week before the Blue Devils took on Virginia, there was talk that the ACC could be left out of the College Football Playoff entirely if a four-loss Duke team won the conference championship. Some analysts cited that a 12-1 James Madison team that wins the Sun Belt or a two-loss South Florida or Tulane team that wins the American could be selected over Duke. Since the ACC will not get any at-large bids, that could, in theory, leave the conference out entirely.
However, those potential scenarios didn't remain a possibility for long, as Duke is now out of the conversation entirely. It felt as if the Blue Devils could pull this win off against UVA; a conference title game appearance was in their grasp, as it was set to face off against two bottom-tier ACC squads to end the campaign. Maybe the lopsided loss to UVA proved Duke didn't deserve to ever be in the conversation.