Great catch lifts Duke to bowl eligibility for first time since 1994

You can cross another pair of items off of Duke's to-do list.

1. Beat North Carolina. Duke's 33-30 victory on Saturday snapped the Tar Heels' eight-game winning streak in the series.

2. Reach bowl eligibility. The Blue Devils, now 6-2, will play in a bowl game for the first time since the 1994 season.

What's next? Oh, the ACC Coastal division championship. For now, the Blue Devils are in the driver's seat.

Duke is 3-1 in conference play, leaving it one full game ahead of Virginia Tech. (North Carolina is also 2-2, but the Tar Heels are ineligible for postseason play.) A loss to Florida State would drop Miami (Fla.) to 3-2 in ACC play.

Yes, Duke controls its own destiny in the ACC race. Let that one sink in.

But it wasn't easy. It's never easy when Duke is involved, as evidenced by the program's last 17 years of existence. The Blue Devils led UNC 23-9 heading into the fourth quarter but was outscored 21-3 before notching the game-winning touchdown with 19 seconds left.

And what a touchdown it was. On fourth-and-2 from the UNC five-yard line, down 30-26, quarterback Sean Renfree found wide receiver Jamison Crowder sandwiched between two defenders. Crowder made the grab, was hit, flipped head-over-heels and held on, setting off the celebration.

Unitas to Berry. Montana to Rice. Renfree to Crowder. It rolls off the tongue.

But I don't think Duke is done just yet. The Blue Devils know that there's a potential BCS berth in the cards should they fend off the Hokies, Yellow Jackets and Hurricanes to win the Coastal division. There's a chance.

So now that Duke has snapped its bowl-free streak, who's next? Western Kentucky hasn't reached the postseason since 1963, but will get there this fall. Likewise with Kent State, which should snap its 40-year drought; the Golden Flashes beat Western

Michigan to move to 6-1. New Mexico State has gone 52 years since last reaching the postseason. And Louisiana-Monroe, one of the breakout teams of 2012, has never reached a bowl game – 65 years and counting.