We’ve entered the final month of the college football regular season, and the stakes are increasing by the week.

The ACC is a relatively competitive conference this season, with the sport’s top-ranked team being the Miami Hurricanes and a surprising explosion to the top by the No. 14-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The rest of the conference remains in a frenzy as the second tier of teams work their way out, with the Duke Blue Devils being one of them.

Duke is coming off a statement victory against Boston College, playing their most complete game of the season and setting themselves up for a potential run. What the Blue Devils showed last weekend is that they could be the ACC’s scariest team in the final four weeks of the regular season.

What Makes Duke Scary

Last year, Duke made (and won) the ACC championship thanks to an odd tiebreaker and a strong finish to the regular season. This year is different; despite being counted out in the preseason, head coach Manny Diaz has the Blue Devils at 6-2, over .500 in conference play, and is on pace for one of the best regular seasons for the program in a decade and a half.

What has led to Duke’s success this season is three things: 1) their rapid defensive improvement; 2) finding consistency at quarterback; and 3) the historic season of running back Nate Sheppard.

The Blue Devils had one of the worst defenses in football last season while producing a Top-25 offense with former quarterback Darian Mensah. This year, the team is led by Sheppard’s program-breaking numbers and a defense that has depth and talent at all three levels of the unit, and this combination makes them a scary group that no one wants to face in November.

What excites me about the ceiling of the Blue Devils is that their passing game remains untapped to the fullest extent. The best pass-catcher is tight end Jeremiah Hasley, with quarterback Walker Eget continuing to find a rhythm with each game, finding different playmakers to target each week. If the passing game begins to heat up, that could also be a dangerous sight.

Duke is ACC’s Sleeper Team

The Blue Devils do have a difficult path to return to the ACC championship next month; they travel to Raleigh to play the NC State Wolfpack, followed by another road game against the Hurricanes, Senior Night against Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers, and on the road again vs. Wake Forest.

That is a tough November with road games against two rivals, the country’s best team and Clemson, though they are not the same Tigers as last season. Yet, the Blue Devils seem built for this stretch with the roster they’ve put together.

These are daunting games ahead, which will test the Blue Devils' strengths on both sides of the ball. When you have the best running back in the land on your team, you have a chance every week. Paired with a great defense, Duke is on the path to being one of the scariest teams in the league, with the consequences involving a potential conversation about being a playoff team.