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1954 Duke

8–⁠2–⁠1 (4–⁠0 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Bill Murray, finished No. 14 in the AP poll.

Duke, 1954
Photo: Duke University, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Schedule and results

Duke in 1954, game by game: won at Pennsylvania 52–0; won vs. Tennessee 7–6; tied at No. 5 Purdue 13–13; lost vs. No. 18 Army 14–28; won at NC State 21–7; won vs. Georgia Tech 21–20; lost vs. No. 19 Navy 7–40; won at Wake Forest 28–21; won vs. South Carolina 26–7; won at North Carolina 47–12; won vs. Nebraska 34–7+52−33Won 52–0 at Pennsylvania+52PennsylvaniaWon 7–6 vs. Tennessee+1TennesseeTied 13–13 at No. 5 Purdue0No. 5 PurdueLost 14–28 vs. No. 18 Army-14No. 18 ArmyWon 21–7 at NC State+14NC StateWon 21–20 vs. Georgia Tech+1Georgia TechLost 7–40 vs. No. 19 Navy-33No. 19 NavyWon 28–21 at Wake Forest+7Wake ForestWon 26–7 vs. South Carolina+19South CarolinaWon 47–12 at North Carolina+35North CarolinaWon 34–7 vs. Nebraska+27Nebraska
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 25atPennsylvaniaW 52–⁠062%
Oct 2vsTennesseeW 7–⁠666%
Oct 9at5PurdueT 13–⁠1355%
Oct 16vs18ArmyL 14–⁠2865%
Oct 23atNC StateW 21–⁠777%
Oct 30vsGeorgia TechW 21–⁠2054%
Nov 6vs19NavyL 7–⁠4050%
Nov 13atWake ForestW 28–⁠2167%
Nov 20vsSouth CarolinaW 26–⁠765%
Nov 27atNorth CarolinaW 47–⁠1263%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvsNebraskaOrange BowlW 34–⁠771%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Nebraska 34–⁠7 in the Orange Bowl; No. 14 in the final AP poll; Atlantic Coast Conference champions.

In program history: The 10th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 108 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 15
  2. Wk 2: 19
  3. Wk 3: 7
  4. Wk 4: 6
  5. Wk 5: 6
  6. Wk 6: 19
  7. Wk 7: 16
  8. Wk 8: 11
  9. Wk 11: 20
  10. Final: 14

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1954.

Atlantic Coast Conference champions4–⁠0 in the conference

Record
8–⁠2–⁠1
Conference
4–⁠0 first in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 14 peak No. 6
Points
270–⁠161
Coach
Bill Murray
Elo
1675 +54 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
10.6 No. 27 of 111 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Jerry Barger
Most valuable player
Jerry Barger

All-ACC

3 first team, 1 second team

First team

  • Fred CampbellOTUP-1
  • Jerry BargerB
  • Robert A. PascalB

Second team

  • Bryant AldridgeBAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1954 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1954 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Duke4–⁠08–⁠2–⁠114
Maryland4–⁠0–⁠17–⁠2–⁠18
North Carolina4–⁠24–⁠5–⁠1
South Carolina3–⁠36–⁠4
Clemson1–⁠25–⁠5
Wake Forest1–⁠4–⁠12–⁠7–⁠1
Virginia0–⁠23–⁠6
NC State0–⁠42–⁠8

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.