From Wallace Wade to Wherever: Duke's Bowl Watch - Week 9

After taking off the bye week we’re back with Week 9 bowl projections from Brian Kennedy of Duke Football Talk and myself, Freddie Hodges of Duke Report.

Freddie Hodges – Duke Report

As I look back on Saturday’s performance, I can’t help but echo Brian’s sentiment: What if…

What if Duke hadn't dug itself that early hole? The 95-yard fumble return for a Georgia Tech touchdown set a tone Duke never fully shook. What should’ve been an easy rushing score turned into a disaster. What should’ve been a routine field goal turned into another missed opportunity. Mistakes piled up, and by the time the clock hit zero, it felt like Duke had handed Georgia Tech the win gift-wrapped.

It’s tough to swallow because this truly could’ve been a 20+ point Duke victory if the wheels hadn’t come off.

Now, Duke sits at 4–3 overall, 3–1 in the ACC. The dream of Charlotte and an ACC Championship appearance is still alive—but that door is beginning to close. And beyond that, a top-tier bowl bid like the Pop-Tarts Bowl is becoming a distant chance. Duke isn’t even bowl eligible yet, and nothing can be assumed. With a bye week ahead, then a trip to Clemson on November 1st, followed by a resilient Virginia squad still looming on the schedule, the Blue Devils must narrow their focus to one thing: just win games.

Coastal Chaos, Still Very Much Alive
If you thought the old Coastal Division died, think again—it just spread across the conference.

• Louisville stunned Miami on Friday night.
• Cal and the “Calgorithm” took down North Carolina, continuing what's been a bust season for the Chapel Hill Bill experience.
• Clemson, once feared at Death Valley, dropped another home game—this time to SMU.
• And Florida State? The school that wanted out of the ACC, claiming a superior brand, still can’t buy a conference win—falling on the road to a 3–4 Stanford team.

Absolute chaos. And Duke is caught right in the middle of it.
As for my bowl projection this week... I held steady with Duke to the Duke’s Mayo Bowl for weeks. Then I bumped them up to the Pop-Tarts Bowl, believing continued momentum would carry them there.
But after the Georgia Tech loss, I’m shifting my projection north—all the way to Boston—for the Wasabi Fenway Bowl.

Could that change? Absolutely. A win at Clemson in two weeks would shake everything up again. The ACC is unpredictable, Duke still has five games left, and if “Coastal Chaos” has taught us anything, it’s that nothing is certain—including my bowl projection.
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From Wallace Wade to wherever… this ride is far from over.

Brian Kennedy - Duke Football Talk

Well Duke fans, Saturday's game was a game of what ifs. What if Duke had not fumbled the ball on their first drive at the one yard line? What if they had been able to score a rushing touchdown more than once? What if special teams had performed?

When I am asking that many questions about a game, the turnout is what you would expect. Duke SHOULD have defeated GT, but in the end, Duke defeated themselves. Another potential program defining game, and another loss to show. As the saying goes, I am not mad anymore, I'm just disappointed.

With the loss Duke falls to 4-3 on the season, but only has 1 loss in ACC play. Even crazier, Duke still has a shot, albeit a small one, to make it to Charlotte for the ACC championship. A LOT has to go Duke's way (winning their own games a must) for it to happen, but with what we have seen this season with "Coastal Chaos" anything is possible.

With this loss, I have to move the Blue Devils again. As we said in last week's episode of the Section 17 podcast, Duke still has to get to 6 wins to even sniff a bowl game. Will they do it? I believe so. How many wins will they have? That is now becoming harder to forecast.

​With the loss, I have Duke moving from one baseball stadium, to another. Duke will head to Boston and play in the Fenway Bowl. Get more wins, and move up the ladder. Get more losses, and well, Freddie and I may be suspending this article until next year. Let's hope the later of the two scenarios does not happen!

We will be taking off next week due to Duke having a bye week.. but stay tuned — Brian and I will be updating projections right here at Blue Devils Blog  after the Clemson game. See you at Wallace Wade.