Duke football ascends to highest ranking in AP poll since 1994

Duke football has quickly become a force to be reckoned with under head coach Mike Elko in the past year. Making the Blue Devils relevant in college football is something only a handful of coaches in the program’s history have been able to accomplish. We’re not that far away at all from the David Cutcliffe era, but he let the program slip quite a bit during his final few years there, which is why Elko was brought in.

Last season in his first year, he led Duke to a 9-4 overall record, guiding the program to their most wins since 2014. The Blue Devils have kept the momentum rolling in 2023, winning their first three games, one of those being an upset over the No. 9 ranked Clemson Tigers. They’ve continued to climb in the polls and on Sunday, the Blue Devils were ranked No. 18, their highest ranking in the AP poll since 1994.

Check it out below.

highest ap poll ranking since 1994 👀

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— Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) September 17, 2023

In 1994, the Duke head football coach was Fred Goldsmith. That year, he happened to lead the Blue Devils to an 8-4 overall record. That year, he was named ACC Coach of the Year and the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award.

Earlier this season after they upset Clemson, the Blue Devils cracked the AP Top 25 for the first time since spending a week at No. 22 in September of 2018.

Duke got a special performance from their dynamic dual-threat quarterback in the Clemson game. Riley Leonard completed 17 of 33 passes for 175 yards, while rushing for eight carries for 98 yards and a touchdown.

The Blue Devils racked up 515 total yards of offense against the Clemson defense, one of the most surprising stats of their upset victory over the Tigers.

Duke head coach Mike Elko has proven himself as one of the brighter minds in college football today, not only with the rise of the Blue Devils. But the fact that the Texas A&M defense can’t seem to get things right ever since he left College Station. Elko has won 12 of his 16 games with Duke and they’re expected to be one of the top contenders for the ACC title this year.

Up next for the Duke, they’ll face off against the UConn Huskies. Then, they’ll have one of their biggest matchups of the season, as they face off against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, yet another Top 10 opponent. The Blue Devils will take on Notre Dame on Sept. 30th.