Is Duke the most disrespected team in college football?

Duke football is 5-0 for the first time in thirty years and one win away from already being bowl-eligible this season. It's now taken down two power conference opponents in Northwestern and North Carolina. It's got one of the best defenses in the ACC and maybe even the entire nation. And here we are still waiting for Duke to even get a single vote in the weekly AP Poll rankings.

The Blue Devils surely face their toughest matchup of the season tomorrow against 3-2 Georgia Tech, but based on Duke's success so far this season and its identity that fits really well against the Yellow Jackets, it seems like a game Duke can absolutely win.

Duke has yet to have a game without a single turnover, and Georgia Tech relies heavily on limiting turnovers to create success, having just two giveaways on the season. Duke has established a great run attack over the last few weeks that can give this Yellow Jacket stellar rush defense a run for its money. Georgia Tech is averaging 33 points scored per game this season, but Duke is letting up just sixteen points allowed on average against a schedule with just about the same difficulty level as the Yellow Jackets.

But here we stand and the betting lines suggest this would be a massive upset if Duke can pull it off.

The Blue Devils opened the week as 9.5-point underdogs and today are 8.5-point underdogs, along with a hefty +280 moneyline. It seems sportsbooks have no faith in the 5-0 Blue Devils to pull off an upset on the road against a 3-2 ACC opponent.

Georgia Tech is definitely a solid team, but it doesn't seem worthy to assume it'll beat Duke by almost double digits. It's seemed throughout the season no matter what the Blue Devils do to put their name in the conversation of ACC contenders, nothing's working.

The big questions that comes with Duke is the offense that has certainly been suspect at times. It feels like game after game, Duke is sparking a second half or fourth quarter comeback to win games in miraculous fashion. And that's partially true, Duke's been down in the fourth quarter in two games this season, and it's won both. And against Northwestern in week two, it was down until it kicked a game-tying field goal with a few minutes left to tie it and win in overtime.

If you're a Duke fan with high blood pressure, this football season has definitely not been a good mix for you. But after all Duke's done to get to this 5-0 point, it still seems like no one's talking about it.

It's been the Duke defense that's been the catalyst for the team as it's one of the best defenses against the pass in the ACC and one of the better red zone defenses as well. It's also second in the nation in tackles for loss and tenth nationally in defensive third down conversion percentage.

Duke is averaging just 7.4 points allowed to opponents in the second half of games and has given up a mere six points total in the fourth quarter this season. It's got a serious argument as one of the better defenses in the NCAA.

Head coach Manny Diaz has touched time and time again on how he emphasizes to his team that no one cares about or remembers 5-0 teams, and that's a great attitude to have. At least according to sportsbooks, this win will be a massive shift in the attention the Duke football program has been getting this season and one would think it would put Duke in the conversation to be ranked come next week.