With the conference championships now all wrapped up, college football fans are now awaiting the committee’s decision on which team gets to go to the big dance known as the College Football Playoffs. Several people have now posted their takes, including a few insiders and analysts making their bold predictions.
One of them is On3’s Andy Staples, who placed the ACC champions, the Duke Blue Devils, as the 12th seed in the CFP. Duke was not even in the Top 25, but its upset win over Virginia may change a few minds over at the CFP committee, which decides which team goes to the 12-team tournament.
However, given that the Blue Devils were not in the Top 25, there is also a chance that this year’s ACC champions might not even go to the CFP, but Staples thinks otherwise and placed Duke in his prediction anyway:
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In his prediction, Staples placed Big Ten champions, Indiana, at No. 1, with SEC champions Georgia at No. 2, Big Ten runner-up Ohio State at No. 3, and then Big 12 champions Texas Tech at No. 4. These four teams all get a bye in Staples’ rankings.
Staples also added other big teams, with Oregon at No. 5, Ole Miss at No. 6, Texas A&M at No, 7, Oklahoma at No. 8, Miami at No. 9, Notre Dame at No. 10, AAC champion Tulane at No. 11, and ACC champion Duke at No. 12. He also listed Alabama, BYU, Texas and Vanderbilt as the first four teams out of the tournament.
Other notable teams that will be missing the big dance, according to Staples, will be Sunbelt Conference champion James Madison, Utah, USC and Michigan.
Can Duke Actually Make The College Football Playoffs?
Normally, the conference champion of a Power Four conference would automatically make the College Football Playoffs. However, Duke is a five-loss team that somehow made the ACC conference championship game because of a lot of tiebreakers. In the eyes of many, this could disqualify the Blue Devils from the CFP entirely.
It is, however, entirely up to the CFP committee to make the decision. Many believe a team like Alabama should be there, or a conference champion like James Madison, but it is not they making the decision; it is the committee. If a five-loss team like Duke makes it, it would raise some eyebrows, but it would still be a plausible choice given that they are the champion of a Power four conference.
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