Don't Look Now, but Duke Could Be Playing in the ACC Title Game, in Football

You'll forgive us for raising our eyebrows at the prospect of the Duke Blue Devils making postseason noise in college football.

While the hardwood is typically reserved for the program's national titles and impressive athletic achievements, the gridiron may soon be home to a team heading to the conference title game.

Sound crazy?

Understandable, but a realistic scenario exists where David Cutcliffe's squad wins the Coastal Division and gets the opportunity to take on quarterback Jameis Winston and Florida State.

As it stands, there are four teams with two conference losses in the division: Georgia Tech, Miami, Virginia Tech and, yes, Duke.

The Blue Devils lost to the Yellow Jackets back in September, meaning they'll have to root for Paul Johnson's team to drop its lone remaining conference game; otherwise they'd lose the tiebreaker.

Fortunately for them, Georgia Tech plays at Clemson on Thursday. If the Tigers pull out the win, the Blue Devils will control their own destiny to the ACC Championship Game.

The dreams turned into unbridled optimism after Duke beat Virginia Tech on Oct. 26. That gave this team a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Hokies.

Duke's remaining three games are against Miami, Wake Forest and North Carolina. Anyone who watched the Hurricanes this past weekend knows that the team is in a heap of trouble moving forward, and given that the game is being played at home in Wallace Wade Stadium, you'd have to give the Blue Devils slightly more than a fighting chance.

As for the Demon Deacons and Tar Heels, well, they're likely looking toward basketball season at this point.

Wake Forest was recently trounced by Florida State 59-3 in a game that saw its quarterbacks toss seven completions and six interceptions. Needless to say, the offense doesn't appear to hold an advantage over a Duke defense allowing just over 22 points per game.

As for North Carolina, it came into the season with high hopes because of the talented Bryn Renner at quarterback. The Tar Heels got off to a slow start but recently began turning things around with three straight conference victories.

However, Renner was lost for the season due to a shoulder injury, and despite backup Marquise Williams having a decent amount of experience, there are still questions moving forward.

Because of Duke's inability to blow out inferior opponents (its largest margin of victory in conference play is 18 points over North Carolina State), neither of the final two games are in the bag despite how they currently look on paper.

But Cutcliffe has found a way to motivate these guys and get them to believe that those seemingly unattainable goals are now within reach.

Quarterback Brandon Connette provides a dual-threat weapon in the backfield, having thrown for 323 yards and rushing for 101 more in a loss to Pittsburgh.

Since that contest, however, the Blue Devils have won five in a row and are brimming with confidence heading into the final three games of the season.

Part of that stems from the realization that the program hasn't always had opportunities like the one that now sits in front of it. Said Cutcliffe, via GoDuke.com, after a 38-20 victory over North Carolina State:

"

I think the most important part of it is to remember who you are and why you’re better. We’re not better because we strut or because we’re so physically gifted that we’re going to “dominate anyone.” We are who we are because of the process. A process we believe deeply in. A process that’s been a part of what I’ve learned over a lot of years. And these guys buy into the process.

"

To recap, the path to the conference title is very simple: Georgia Tech has to lose at Clemson, and Duke must win its remaining three games.

Should that occur, the Blue Devils will likely go up against Florida State, a team that has dominated the entirety of its schedule and sits in comfortable position to play for the national title. But given where this program was just several years ago, the uphill battles no longer seem so steep.

Take note, college football world: The Duke Blue Devils are somebody in 2013, and they have a great chance to become somebody even bigger.

All stats via ESPN.