Duke football was able to defeat Virginia in the ACC Championship game, and it took overtime for them to get the 27-20 victory. With the win, not only are they champions of the conference, but they also believe that should be enough to get them into the College Football Playoffs.
To be more specific, head coach Manny Diaz believes that his team should get in, but he also lobbies for Miami to get a bid as well. Miami was 10-2 this season but has been ranked behind other two-loss teams, including Notre Dame, which they beat in Week 1.
“Miami should get in,” Diaz said via ESPN's David Hale. “The head-to-head should matter. And so should we, because we're the conference champion.”
On the other hand, there is a good chance that James Madison will make the playoffs, since they're one of the highest-ranked conference champions this season. Diaz has respect for James Madison, but he also noticed that their schedule wasn't as difficult as Duke's.
“I'm not going to take anything away from James Madison,” Diaz said. “They had a really great season. … The Sun Belt has been a really good conference in years past, but most of their top teams are having a down year. So when you start comparing strength of schedule — you can't just look at wins and losses. It's who you play against. That's the whole point of playing a Power 4 schedule. There's a reason all these coaches are all leaving for Power 4 jobs. There's recognition that's where the best competition is.
“The ACC champion should go to the College Football Playoff this year and every year. And we'll be very excited to see how they rule on that tomorrow.”
Duke had a tough schedule this season, but it wasn't one of the hardest in the country. At the same time, it was harder than James Madison's schedule, and the committee will have a lot to think about when coming to deciding who will get in.
