Midseason Bowl Projections All Over Map For Duke

Blue Devils need two wins in second half to qualify

Duke reached the halfway point in its season with a 4-2 record and a share of the ACC Coastal Division lead, at 2-1 in conference.

With the Blue Devils just two wins away from bowl eligibility, it’s tempting to begin looking for likely candidates for the two victories and projecting just how far up the bowl selection pecking order Duke can move.

Unfortunately for Duke, the second half of the season appears to be tougher than the first.

The Blue Devils built their 4-2 record against six opponents who combined for a 21-14 (.600) record. The half dozen who remain are at 23-13, .638.

While Duke played Alabama in the first half, the team has an equally daunting second-half challenge in Notre Dame. Duke is one of just five teams who play regular season games against two of the four College Football Playoff teams from last season. Boston College, Louisville, South Carolina and Texas A&M are the others.

Other than the Irish, there are no other non-conference games. Instead, Duke plays five ACC foes with a combined 6-7 conference mark. The three they played in the first half had a 2-6 conference mark.

Given those distressing numbers, it still appears likely that Duke will get the necessary six wins to make it to the postseason. Home games against Syracuse and Miami appear to be the best bets for wins, but they come in the final three weeks of the season. If Duke doesn’t want to go down the stretch still trying to get eligible for a bowl, it will need to win on the road at Virginia and/or North Carolina in the next two weeks.

After that, the only other options for a win are the Irish and at Wake Forest, neither of which looks promising.

Several national media outlets have begun updating their bowl projections on a weekly basis. Most of them are confident that Duke will receive a bid, although two—CBSSports.com’s Jerry Palm and Athlon—have the Blue Devils on the outside looking in. One outlet—Banner Sports—has Duke just sliding in, playing SMU in the Birmingham Bowl.

The most common landing spots for the Blue Devils are the Pinstripe Bowl and the Belk Bowl, with three projections each. The most common projected opponents are Michigan State and Texas A&M.

Here's a look at where the national outlets have Duke headed for the holidays:

Outlet	Bowl	Opponent
Sports Illustrated	Pinstripe	Michigan State
ESPN Bonagura	Pinstripe	Nebraska
ESPN Schlabach	Camping World	Iowa State
247 Sports	Military	Navy
CBSSports.com	NONE	NONE
Sporting News	First Reponders	TCU
Stadium Brett McMurphy	Belk	Florida
Athlon	NONE	NONE
Banner Society	Birmingham	SMU
College Sports Madness	Belk	South Carolina
College Football News	Pinstripe	Michigan State
Bleacher Report	Belk	Texas A&M
USA Today	Music City	Texas A&M

Duke last played in the Belk Bowl in 2012. The Blue Devils are 1-2 all time in games played in Charlotte, last winning in 1923, over Davidson.

Duke’s last Pinstripe Bowl was 2015. The Blue Devils are 1-4 in New York City neutral site games, losing four to Army between 1944 and 1953.

Duke has never played in the Camping World Bowl. It’s last game in Orlando was a loss to FSU in 1995.

It would also be Duke’s first Military Bowl. The Blue Devils are 5-11 in Annapolis against Navy, all time.

While Duke hasn’t played in the First Responder Bowl, it has played in the Cotton Bowl, in 1960. Duke’s last game in Texas was the 2014 Sun Bowl.

Duke last played in Birmingham in the 1989 All-American Bowl. It is 1-3 all time in the city. Duke’s last game in Alabama was a 2014 road win at Troy.

Duke last played in Nashville in 2008 and is 2-4 against Vanderbilt in the city. It’s last game in Tennessee was the win over Middle Tennessee earlier this year.

Among the projected opponents, Duke has never played TCU, Michigan State or Iowa State.

Duke is 0-1 against A&M, losing in the 2013 Chick-fil-A Bowl.

Duke is 1-0 against Nebraska, winning the 1954 Orange Bowl.

The Blue Devils are 15-20-5 against Navy, last playing in 2013. Duke has won three straight against the Midshipmen.

Duke is 2-3 against Florida, last playing in 1975 and winning in 1971.

Duke is 2-0 against SMU, last playing in 1956.

The Blue Devils are 24-17-3 against South Carolina, last playing to a tie in 1991 and winning in 1982. Duke is 0-5-1 in its last six against the Gamecocks.