We're Number 23!

[wilson]

Duke landed at #23 in this season's final AP football Top 25 (http://collegefootball.ap.org/poll).
Since we didn't finish in the Top 25 in 1994 or 1989, this has got to be the first time in a loooong time that's happened. Anybody remember the last? The 1961 Cotton Bowl season?
At any rate, this is a nice final reward for a great season. Go Devils!

[Dev11]

Duke landed at #23 in this season's final AP football Top 25 (http://collegefootball.ap.org/poll).
Since we didn't finish in the Top 25 in 1994 or 1989, this has got to be the first time in a loooong time that's happened. Anybody remember the last? The 1961 Cotton Bowl season?
At any rate, this is a nice final reward for a great season. Go Devils!

Yep, 1961.

Given the talent that we return, I would hope that the AP remembers to vote us into the preseason poll come August. What a year.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Duke landed at #23 in this season's final AP football Top 25 (http://collegefootball.ap.org/poll).
Since we didn't finish in the Top 25 in 1994 or 1989, this has got to be the first time in a loooong time that's happened. Anybody remember the last? The 1961 Cotton Bowl season?
At any rate, this is a nice final reward for a great season. Go Devils!

From Duke Football's Facebook page:

For the first time in more than five decades, Duke Football is ranked in the Top 25 final AP poll.

2013 Final Rankings:
- #22 USA Today Coaches Poll
- #23 AP Poll
- #24 BCS Poll
- #20 Harris Poll

[TruBlu]

From Duke Football's Facebook page:

For the first time in more than five decades, Duke Football is ranked in the Top 25 final AP poll.

2013 Final Rankings:
- #22 USA Today Coaches Poll
- #23 AP Poll
- #24 BCS Poll
- #20 Harris Poll

- #1 in our hearts

[Bob Green]

- #1 in our hearts

So true!

It is great news that the team has earned recognition for their fantastic season. Congratulations, Blue Devils!

[arnie]

So true!

It is great news that the team has earned recognition for their fantastic season. Congratulations, Blue Devils!

Unbelievably great news coupled with a season I never thought could happen at Duke. Give Cutcliffe, the players and the members of the search committee that recommended Cut's hiring credit for this accomplishment.

[killerleft]

I'm still in a funk over the Chick-Fil-A Bowl loss, but this ranking DOES help to put things in perspective. A great year for Duke Football! Who knows, maybe I can start showing some interest in Duke Basketball now. I hear we've got this Jabari fellow, is he any good?:D

[DukieInKansas]

I'm still in a funk over the Chick-Fil-A Bowl loss, but this ranking DOES help to put things in perspective. A great year for Duke Football! Who knows, maybe I can start showing some interest in Duke Basketball now. I hear we've got this Jabari fellow, is he any good?:D

That's the rumor I hear about Jabari. ;-)

Congratulations to the football team. What a great season!

[J_C_Steel]

From Duke Football's Facebook page:

For the first time in more than five decades, Duke Football is ranked in the Top 25 final AP poll.

2013 Final Rankings:
- #22 USA Today Coaches Poll
- #23 AP Poll
- #24 BCS Poll
- #20 Harris Poll

Awesome. So proud of those guys.

[sagegrouse]

Duke won the ACC all three years, finishing 8-3, 7-3, 8-2.

The Final AP Poll shows ten teams in 1960 and 1962, but 20 teams in 1961. I believe voters only voted for ten places in all three polls.

Duke was listed as #10 in 1960 and #20 in 1961. The 1962 team was listed as unranked, but had the best W-L percentage of the three teams and was the second team listed in "Others receiving votes." Effectively, it was #12.

The 1962 team lost a nationally televised game to USC, 14-7, in the first game (there was only ONE nationally televised game each week) and went undefeated the rest of the season, except for a home loss to Georgia Tech. The team voted (how quaint!) to turn down a bid to the Gator Bowl.

sage

[BD80]

Duke won the ACC all three years, finishing 8-3, 7-3, 8-2.

The Final AP Poll shows ten teams in 1960 and 1962, but 20 teams in 1961. I believe voters only voted for ten places in all three polls.

Duke was listed as #10 in 1960 and #20 in 1961. The 1962 team was listed as unranked, but had the best W-L percentage of the three teams and was the second team listed in "Others receiving votes." Effectively, it was #12.

The 1962 team lost a nationally televised game to USC, 14-7, in the first game (there was only ONE nationally televised game each week) and went undefeated the rest of the season, except for a home loss to Georgia Tech. The team voted (how quaint!) to turn down a bid to the Gator Bowl.

sage

Was this the last time the football team was ranked above the basketball team?

[roywhite]

Was this the last time the football team was ranked above the basketball team?

Fred Goldsmith's 1994 football team was more successful than the 1994-95 basketball team, when K was out with his back problem.

[DBFAN]

Am I missing something, because that link says Duke is 22, not 23.

[sagegrouse]

Was this the last time the football team was ranked above the basketball team?

I noted, in the ESPN article cited elsewhere, that the #5 team on the list for most consecutive top ten weeks was Duke, 1961-1966. In any event, Duke 1961-62 was top ten AP all season in hoops and outranked the football team every week.

In 1962-63 (football season 1962) Duke started and ended at #2 nationally, only going as high as #8 after two losses in December. This was a team which was undefeated in the ACC. It outranked the football team every week of the basketball season (going with the final football rankings as the metric).

But going back to 1960-61, we find the football team ranked ahead of the basketball squad. Duke was unranked in basketball at the start of the season and became ranked by mid-December after four impressive wins. The football team was #10 in the Final AP poll.

The last date appears to be December 12, 1960, when unranked Duke hoops beat South Carolina at the Indoor Stadium, 107-79. After that game, Duke basketball entered the AP poll at #8. Lessee, that would be 53 years ago. And BTW, Old Sage was at the game.

[Olympic Fan]

Duke won the ACC all three years, finishing 8-3, 7-3, 8-2.

The Final AP Poll shows ten teams in 1960 and 1962, but 20 teams in 1961. I believe voters only voted for ten places in all three polls.

Duke was listed as #10 in 1960 and #20 in 1961. The 1962 team was listed as unranked, but had the best W-L percentage of the three teams and was the second team listed in "Others receiving votes." Effectively, it was #12.

The 1962 team lost a nationally televised game to USC, 14-7, in the first game (there was only ONE nationally televised game each week) and went undefeated the rest of the season, except for a home loss to Georgia Tech. The team voted (how quaint!) to turn down a bid to the Gator Bowl.

sage

The AP fluctuated between a top 10 and a top 20 during this period. They did the same thing in basketball.

The 1962 team did officially finish No. 14 in the UPI poll ... that was the coaches poll. With the demise of the UPI 20 years or so, it became the USA Today poll and later the ESPN/USA Today poll. In its heyday, the UPI poll was one of the two major rankings. So I think it's fair to say that 1962 was the last Duke team before this one to finish ranked.

PS: As to the question of the last time the football team was ranked higher than the basketball team ... that's going to be hard to find. Let's see -- the 1994 football team finished unranked, so even though it ws better than the 1994-95 basketball team, it wasn't ranked higher in the final poll, Same with 1989.

In the early '60s, the basketball team was always ranked higher. The 1960 football team was No. 10, but the basketball team that year finished No. 9. The 1957 football team was No. 16, but the basketball team finished in the top 10 in 1957-58. The 1956 football team was No. 20 in the UPI, but unranked in AP. The basketball team finished unranked, so if you count the coaches poll, that's it.

If you want the AP poll ... you want 1954-55. The '54 football team finished No. 14 in the AP and the 54-55 basketball team was unranked.

[Reilly]

... The 1962 team ... voted (how quaint!) to turn down a bid to the Gator Bowl ...

At the bar of the Duke hotel in Atlanta before Cut's radio show, I spoke to a member of the 1962 team. He said he was one of three who spoke up in favor of going to the bowl, some spoke against it, and some abstained in the voting.

He also said that the episode was mis-reported in "Duke Football: A Story of Glory" by Ted Mann (I think he said the book said it was the admin that turned down the invite; need to check my copy).

Apparently, the declination was also related to timing -- Duke's season had ended the week before (Nov 24), then the possibility of the bowl was raised after the 12/1 games (something to do with the Mia/Fla outcome). The former player thought if the invite had been extended right at the end of the ACC championship season, the team would've voted to go. Instead, there was a week's delay, and the team (some of them) had literally/figuratively/mentally put their gear away, and as has been recounted here by Oly Fan, the memory of the brutal 1960 bowl prep played a part. [The player said the coaches promised the 62 prep would not have been as intense as 1960.]

It was cool getting the old stories. Maybe in 2064, Josh Snead can tell some guy about going to Dave & Buster's and GoKart racing ...

[DevilWearsPrada]

From Duke Football's Facebook page:

For the first time in more than five decades, Duke Football is ranked in the Top 25 final AP poll.

2013 Final Rankings:
- #22 USA Today Coaches Poll
- #23 AP Poll
- #24 BCS Poll
- #20 Harris Poll

Congratulations to our 2013 Football Team, and Staff and Head Coach David Cutcliffe!!! A great season and so fun to watch!
Also so thankful for all the recruits that Coach Cutcliffe has brought to Duke since 2008, that would change the culture of Duke Football!!!!

[Reilly]

... the 1994 football team finished unranked, so even though it ws better than the 1994-95 basketball team, it wasn't ranked higher in the final poll, ....

"better" is such a subjective word ...

If you look at the "SRS" at the sports-reference.com site ...

In 1994-95: the hoops team finished #22 in the country; the football team finished #27 ...
... hoops team of course had the incredible run of very close losses ... the computer doesn't care ...

In 2013-14: the hoops team is currently #8 in the country; the football team finished #30
... so, computer likes us more (even with 3 losses) than the humans ...

[Olympic Fan]

But going back to 1960-61, we find the football team ranked ahead of the basketball squad. Duke was unranked in basketball at the start of the season and became ranked by mid-December after four impressive wins. The football team was #10 in the Final AP poll.



If you are going to get into a weekly ranking comparison, then you need to go back to the fall of 1994 when the football team was ranked four weeks before there was a basketball poll.

Weekly fluctuations aside, the 1960 football team did finish No. 10 and was ranked higher for a few weeks than the basketball team. But the 1960-61 basketball team finished No. 9 ... one spot higher than the football team that season.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I think it's pretty cool that despite our loss in the bowl, we actually moved UP in the polls, from 24 to 22 in the AP. (We stayed at 22 in the coaches poll.) That is some serious respect for our performance in the game.

[arnie]

Fred Goldsmith's 1994 football team was more successful than the 1994-95 basketball team, when K was out with his back problem.

Unfortunately, that maybe the case with the 2013 football and 2013/2014 bball teams.

[ForkFondler]

Unfortunately, that maybe the case with the 2013 football and 2013/2014 bball teams.

Yeah, I was getting worried, but the back looked OK tonight.

[arnie]

Yeah, I was getting worried, but the back looked OK tonight.
No trips to Hawaii either.

[CameronBornAndBred]

In ESPN's ACC blog (Heather Dinich and Andrea Adelson), they kept Duke in the third slot for the final ACC power rankings. I can't remember if we started the year at the bottom, I think so. Nice of them to keep us third with the respect they give us for our Bowl showing.
http://espn.go.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/66260/final-2013-acc-power-rankings

[MCFinARL]

In ESPN's ACC blog (Heather Dinich and Andrea Adelson), they kept Duke in the third slot for the final ACC power rankings. I can't remember if we started the year at the bottom, I think so. Nice of them to keep us third with the respect they give us for our Bowl showing.
http://espn.go.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/66260/final-2013-acc-power-rankings

Nice, sure, although since we beat the teams they had in positions 4, 5, and 6 head to head, it seems only fair. But the write-up does show respect, which is nice indeed.

[Dev11]

In ESPN's ACC blog (Heather Dinich and Andrea Adelson), they kept Duke in the third slot for the final ACC power rankings. I can't remember if we started the year at the bottom, I think so. Nice of them to keep us third with the respect they give us for our Bowl showing.
http://espn.go.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/66260/final-2013-acc-power-rankings

Right after the national championship game last year, Dinich had us ranked #11 (http://espn.go.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/50932/early-2013-acc-power-rankings) (out of 14, it's hard to keep track these days) and concerned about the loss of Renfree and Vernon to the NFL.

ESPN's general college football blog ranked us #12 (http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/81100/acc-preseason-power-rankings-2) before Week 1. I can't find the ACC blog doing preseason rankings.

[wilson]

Even higher praise from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where sports columnist Mark Bradley has Duke at #17 in his Top 25 look ahead to next season (http://markbradley.blog.ajc.com/2014/01/14/top-25-for-2014-florida-state-is-a-no-kidding-no-1/#sthash.cr2Qd7Qh.yLdSSpsJ.dpbs).

[CameronBornAndBred]

Even higher praise from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where sports columnist Mark Bradley has Duke at #17 in his Top 25 look ahead to next season (http://markbradley.blog.ajc.com/2014/01/14/top-25-for-2014-florida-state-is-a-no-kidding-no-1/#sthash.cr2Qd7Qh.yLdSSpsJ.dpbs).
I will not be shocked at all when the season finally rolls around and the media once again has us in the bottom half of the ACC. They won't give us the complete basement, but if we start in the lower half of expectations and out of the top 25, I won't be the least surprised. I'll be ticked off, but not surprised.

P.S...wow, that guy has only four ACC teams in, and we are ahead of Clemson.

[wilson]

They won't give us the complete basement, but if we start in the lower half of expectations and out of the top 25, I won't be the least surprised. I'll be ticked off, but not surprised.Yeah, I'm with you, but it's nice to see us at least garnering some respect from some corners for the time being.


P.S...wow, that guy has only four ACC teams in, and we are ahead of Clemson.Not only that; we're the only Coastal team in his rankings. Which, of course, means...

[devildeac]

Yeah, I'm with you, but it's nice to see us at least garnering some respect from some corners for the time being.

Not only that; we're the only Coastal team in his rankings. Which, of course, means...

...c*rolina can still GTH?!