The Associated Press Preseason Top 25 dropped today, and the Duke football program was unsurprisingly not included despite the team getting better after winning nine games in 2024. However, three ACC schools were included in the top 25, but AP Poll voters will regret putting SMU in the Top 25 over Duke after the regular season plays out.
Clemson, Miami, SMU in Top 25, Duke left out with votes received
The Blue Devils were one of 24 programs to receive AP Poll votes on the outside looking in, but Clemson, Miami, and SMU are the three teams representing the ACC in the Preseason Poll. The Tigers lead the way at No. 4, followed by the Hurricanes at No. 10, and the Mustangs rounding it out at No. 16.
The Mustangs have been garnering lots of buzz as true ACC contenders, which is head-scratching to Duke fans as the Blue Devils undoubtedly got better this offseason, but SMU might not have.
The Mustangs lost their top two running backs and three of their top four receivers from a season ago, and although the program brought in some solid pieces via the transfer portal, there aren't any stars at the wide receiver or running back positions coming in who blow people away.
Similar to Duke, SMU was led by its defense, boasting the top scoring defense in the ACC in 2024 (22.1 PPG allowed). The Mustangs made it all the way to the ACC Championship game and earned a spot in the College Football Playoffs, but the committee is giving the program way too much credit, considering how little it's giving Duke.
Head coach Manny Diaz delivered just the fourth season of nine or more wins in Duke football history in his first season in 2024 and has revamped the roster on both sides of the ball.
Duke has a major upgrade at the quarterback spot with Darian Mensah, one of the top QBs of this past transfer portal cycle. Additionally, the program is bringing back key offensive pieces such as receiver Que'Sean Brown and running back Jaquez Moore. Beyond that, even though Duke lost its top two receivers from a season ago, Diaz made up for that with two key portal additions in Andrel Anthony from Oklahoma and Cooper Barkate from Harvard.
Just like SMU, Duke also boasted one of the best defenses college football had to offer, and had some of the least portal exits of any team in Division I. Diaz was able to bring back several key defensive players, most notably rising senior cornerback Chandler Rivers, who might be the top returning secondary piece in all of college football.
In 2024, Duke ranked second in the nation in tackles for loss (116), fourth in the nation in sacks (43), and 26th nationally in third-down conversion percentage (33.8).
As of now, SMU has the fourth-best odds per FanDuel to win the ACC Championship at +900, whereas Duke is down at sixth at +2700, a pretty drastic difference from two similar squads.
SMU barely squeaked out a win versus the Blue Devils in 2024, winning 28-27 in overtime. Considering how much better Duke got this offseason on both sides of the ball, the committee could regret having SMU in the opening poll over the Blue Devils.