CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Manny Diaz did not hold back when it came to making Duke football‘s case to be in the College Football Playoff after claiming the 2025 ACC championship.
“The ACC Conference champion should go to the college football playoffs this year and every year,” Diaz said following Duke‘s ACC title win over Virginia on Saturday, Dec. 6.
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The Blue Devils (8-5) defeated the Cavaliers 27-20 in overtime to win the conference title, marking Duke’s first outright ACC title since 1962 and eighth overall. However, a bid to the CFP is not guaranteed despite the win, as only the five highest-ranked conference champions earn automatic bids.
Perhaps the biggest roadblock in Duke’s way to the CFP is No. 25 James Madison. The Dukes (12-1) won the Sun Belt Conference on Friday, Dec. 5, with a 31-14 win over Troy. Heading into Saturday, Dec. 6, James Madison had a 49.7% chance of making the playoff, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index, while Duke had a 0% chance.
Diaz pointed to Duke’s strength of schedule compared to that of JMU’s, and also pointed out JMU’s lone loss came to an ACC opponent: a 28-14 loss to Louisville on Sept. 5.
“Their schedule is in the 100s, ours is somewhere in the 50s,” Diaz said. “Seven wins in conference, seven Power Four wins as opposed to zero Power Four wins and 0-1 versus the ACC as opposed to seven wins in the ACC champions.”
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Duke’s five losses (Illinois, Tulane, Virginia, UConn and Georgia Tech) don’t help its CFP resume, but Diaz views them as the reason the Blue Devils were crowned ACC champs.
“We had to learn through some of those losses,” he said. “And those losses are the reason why we’re a champion today.”
By the end of Saturday, the highest-ranked conference champions were: No. 2 Indiana (Big Ten), No. 3 Georgia (SEC), No. 4 Texas Tech (ACC), No. 20 Tulane (American) and No. 25 James Madison (Sun Belt). Duke was not included in the latest set of rankings that were released on Tuesday, Dec. 4.
If the committee were to exclude Duke, the ACC could be without a team in the CFP if Miami does not finish between 6-12 in the rankings. The Hurricanes started the weekend at No. 12 in the CFP rankings and could be helped by both Alabama’s and BYU’s losses in their conference title games.
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“We’ll be very excited to find out how they rule on that tomorrow,” Diaz said.
When is College Football Playoff selection show?
The final CFP rankings will be released on Dec. 7. You can watch or stream the College Football Playoff selection show on ESPN.
College Football Playoff bracket 2025-26 dates
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First round: Dec. 19 and 20
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Quarterfinals: Dec. 31 and Jan. 1
Anna Snyder covers Duke for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at asnyder@usatodayco.com or follow her @annaesnydr on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Manny Diaz pushes for CFP bid after Duke football wins ACC crown
