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Duke Finishes 38th In ESPN?s College Football Prestige Rankings
DURHAM, N.C. ? This week ESPN announced their all-time college football Prestige Rankings, putting a numerical value to try and determine the best college football program since 1936.
The Blue Devils ended up being ranked 38th overall out of 119 schools and finishing with the seventh most prestigious program in the ACC.
The rankings start with the 1936 season because that year the AP Poll was introduced ranking teams and crowning a National Champion.
Based on ESPN’s point system the Blue Devils finished with 297 prestige points, a mere six points behind the 37th ranked team and conference rival Virginia Tech.
Major Bowls ? 1939 Rose Bowl, 1942 Rose Bowl, 1945 Sugar, 1955 Orange, 1958 Orange, 1961 Cotton Bowl.
Major Bowl Wins ? 1945 Sugar Bowl over Alabama 29-26, 1955 Orange Bowl over Nebraska 34-7, 1961 Cotton Bowl over Arkansas 7-6.
Bowl Wins ? 1945 Sugar, 1955 Orange, 1961 Cotton.
Bowl Appearances ? 1939, 1942, 1945, 1955, 1958, 1961, 1989 All-American Bowl, 1995 Hall of Fame Bowl.
Best win/loss record in Conference regular season ? 1936 Southern Conference 7-0, 1938 Southern Conference 5-0, 1939 Southern Conference 5-0, 1941 Southern Conference 5-0, 1943 Southern Conference 4-0, 1944 Southern Conference 4-0, 1945 Southern Conference 4-0, 1952 Southern Conference 5-0, 1953 ACC 4-0(t1st), 1954 ACC 4-0, 1955 ACC 4-0(t1st), 1960 ACC 5-1, 1961 ACC 5-1, 1962 ACC 6-0, 1989 ACC 6-1(t1st).
Final AP Top Five Finishes ? 1938 final AP ranking 3rd (9-1), 1941 final AP ranking 2nd (9-1).
Final AP Ranking 6-10 ? 1939 final AP ranking 8th (8-1), 1943 final AP ranking 7th (8-1), 1960 final AP ranking 10th (8-3).
Final AP Ranking 11-25 ? 1936 final AP ranking 11th (9-1), 1937 final AP ranking 20th (7-2-1), 1940 final AP ranking 18th (7-2), 1944 final AP ranking 11th (6-4), 1945 final AP ranking 13th (6-2), 1947 final AP ranking 19th (4-3-2), 1952 final AP ranking 16th (8-2), 1953 final AP ranking 18th (7-2-1), 1954 final AP ranking 14th (8-2-1), 1957 final AP ranking 16th (6-3-2), 1961 final AP ranking 20th (7-3).
Consensus All-Americans ? 1933 ? Fred Crawford, Tackle, 1936 ? Ace Parker, Halfback, 1971 ? Ernie Jackson, Defensive Back, 1989 ? Clarkston Hines, Wide Receiver.
First Round NFL Draft Pick (Since 1970) ?Mike Junkin fifth pick by the Cleveland Browns (1987) and Dave Brown first pick by the New York Giants (1992 ? supplemental).
Other notable accomplishments:
AFCA Academic Achievement Award (the nation’s highest academic honor) ? 1981, 1984 (tie), 1987, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995 (tie), 1996 (tie), 1997, 1999, 2003, 2005.
Duke Football Academic All-America ? Ed Lyon (1959), Butch Allie (1959-60), Bill Jones (1965), Roger Hayes (1966), Bob Lasky (1967), Curt Rawley (1970), Mike Diminick (1986-87-88), Doug Kley (1989), Travis Pearson (1993), Shawn Johnson (2002), Eli Nichols (2005-06).
ACC Players of the Year ? Jerry Barger (1954) quarterback, Mike McGee (1959) guard, Jay Wilkinson (1963) halfback, Ernie Jackson (1971) defensive back, Steve Jones (1972) running back, Chris Castor (1982) wide receiver, Ben Bennett (1983) quarterback, Anthony Dilweg (1988) quarterback, Clarkston Hines (1989) wide receiver, Robert Baldwin (1994) tailback.
Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductees ? Halfback, George McAfee (1966), halfback, Ace Parker (1972) and quarterback, Sonny Jurgensen (1983).
ACC Prestige Rankings
1. Florida State (9th overall) 1,110 points
2. Miami (10th) 1,109 points
3. Georgia Tech (18th) 610 points
4. Clemson (t-22nd) 486 points
5. Maryland (t-31st) 352 points
6. Virginia Tech (37th) 303 points
7. Duke (38th) 297 points
8. Boston College (40th) 280 points
9. North Carolina (41st) 277 points
10. N.C. State (58th) 152 points
11. Virginia (66th) 101 points
12. Wake Forest (t-95th) 9 points
