After taking down then-No. 9 Clemson, Duke is ranked at No. 21 in the latest AP poll. The Blue Zone brings you a breakdown of movement around the country:
Rise of the Blue Devils
After its historic upset of Clemson, Duke has entered the top 25. The potential of the Blue Devils was evident due to the massive amount of returning talent, in addition to their strong finish last season in head coach Mike Elko’s first year in Durham. With all of that being said, the result to open the season at Wallace Wade Stadium was still largely unexpected, as Duke stunned perennial contender Clemson 28-7 to begin the 2023 campaign. Elko’s squad leaned on its defensive unit to come out victorious, as the Blue Devils continued to hold serve in the red zone and stifle the Tigers when it mattered most.
With its statement win, Duke enters the poll for the first time since Week 4 of 2018, landing at No. 21. Behind the arm of quarterback Riley Leonard and the veteran presence on defense, Duke has proven that it could compete for a spot in the ACC Championship in December.
PAC-12 dominance
In its last season with the current lineup of schools, the Pac-12 is flexing its muscles. The conference has five teams in this week’s rankings, including five in the top 16. The cream of the crop in the PAC-12 has been hyped all offseason as USC and Washington. So far, both teams have delivered, as the Trojans are 2-0 to begin their campaign and the Huskies dismantled a solid Boise State team 56-19 to open their season. The committee rewarded them as such, as USC enters the week at No. 6 and Washington comes in at No. 8.
The next tier of west coast teams is formidable as well, as Utah, Oregan and Oregon State come in at No. 12, 13 and 16 respectively. Without starting quarterback Cam Rising, the Utes picked up an impressive win at home, knocking off Florida 24-11. The Ducks and quarterback Bo Nix looked as advertised in Week 1, thrashing Portland State by a final of 81-7. In transfer quarterback DJ Uiagalelei’s first start in Beaverton, Ore., Oregon State handled business, taking down San Jose State 42-17.
The surprise team in this week’s poll from out west is Colorado. In Deion Sanders’ first year as head coach, the Buffaloes were not expected to make a ton of noise in the PAC-12. Instead, they went down to Fort Worth, Tx., and shocked TCU — last year’s national runner-up — winning a 45-42 thriller. Colorado comes in at No. 22 this week.
ACC shakeups
Elsewhere in the ACC, there was some significant movement in the polls. Most notably, Florida State jumps up into the top 4, coming in at No. 4 after an opening night 45-24 beatdown of now No. 14 LSU. The Seminoles started the game sluggish but were clicking on all cylinders in the second half, asserting themselves as the team to beat in the ACC as well as a College Football Playoff contender.
North Carolina also had an impressive opener performance, beating potent SEC foe South Carolina behind a stellar defensive line and the arm of star signal caller Drake Maye. The 31-17 victory obviously impressed the voters, as the Tar Heels jump four spots to No. 17 this week.
The only ranked ACC team to lose this week remains in the top 25, as Clemson falls 16 spots to No. 25. After an uncharacteristic performance for their program standards, the Tigers will be looking to right the ship in hopes of inching back towards their preseason ranking.
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