Duke heads into Manny Diaz’s third season with a strange kind of respect attached to it: the Blue Devils are the defending ACC champions, they’ve won nine games in each of Diaz’s first two years, and yet the national outlook is still pretty muted.
A lot of that comes back to one offseason loss. Darian Mensah is gone, and with him went the kind of star power that can change how outsiders view a team before a snap is played.
Duke’s offense is expected to look different this fall with either Walker Eget or Dan Mahan at quarterback, but there’s still reason to think the run game can carry real weight. Nate Sheppard gives the Blue Devils a true feature back, and the offensive line should be one of the more experienced groups in the ACC.
The bigger question is whether Diaz can clean up a defense that spent much of last season near the bottom of the conference. If that side of the ball doesn’t take a step forward, Duke may not have the same offensive margin for error it enjoyed before.
That uncertainty is showing up in the early bowl forecasts. With the season less than two weeks away, the projections that are starting to roll in paint a picture of a team that could land anywhere from a solid postseason trip to no bowl at all.
ESPN’s Mark Schlabach has Duke in the Birmingham Bowl against Auburn, while Kyle Bonagura projects the Blue Devils to the Gasparilla Bowl against Wisconsin. CBS Sports did not select Duke for a bowl. On3’s Brett McMurphy went even further, leaving Duke out of the postseason entirely.
If McMurphy’s call turns out right, it would be the first time since 2021 that Duke missed a bowl game. It would also mark the first season since 2021 in which the Blue Devils failed to win at least eight games.
That kind of projection feels harsh for a program that has repeatedly beaten the market’s expectations under Diaz, even with the loss of Mensah hanging over the offseason. The roster still looks talented enough to compete.
The ESPN matchups would at least bring some interesting nonconference flavor. A Birmingham Bowl meeting with Auburn would be the first football game between the two programs since 1980. A Gasparilla Bowl pairing with Wisconsin would be only the second time Duke and the Badgers have met; the first came in the 1995 Hall of Fame Bowl, a 34-20 Wisconsin win.
A bowl date with North Texas, meanwhile, would be a first-ever meeting between those schools.
Before any of that gets sorted out, Duke opens the regular season on September 5th at home against Tulane, a game that could reshape the way this team is viewed almost immediately.
In Other News...
Duke's Quarterback Situation Could Still Bring A Late ACC-Changing Twist
Walker Eget is the current projected starter for Duke heading into the 2026 season after transferring in from San Jose State, giving the Blue Devils at least a baseline answer at the game's most important position. Even so, the quarterback picture around Durham has not fully settled, and as the offseason market continues to shift, Duke remains one of the teams worth watching for a possible late move.
Former Florida State quarterback Thomas Castellanos was granted a temporary restraining order that allows him to play another year, and that development has naturally put him back on the radar for programs looking for help under center. Duke has been mentioned as a possible landing spot if it decides to chase an upgrade, though there is no confirmation the Blue Devils will pursue him, leaving one of the more intriguing roster questions in the ACC still open. [Read more 🡒]
Duke Could Still Find A Higher-Upside Answer At Quarterback
Thomas Castellanos has quickly become a name to watch in a quarterback market that is still taking shape, and Duke is one of the schools being mentioned as a possible landing spot. The recent eligibility wrinkle that gave him a fifth year has only added to the intrigue, and the Blue Devils have reason to keep an eye on a player who could still bring a different kind of upside to the room if the fit makes sense.
Texas Tech is also in the mix and is reportedly evaluating the situation carefully after its own recent quarterback issues, which is part of why this is still developing rather than settled. For Duke, the appeal is obvious: a chance to consider another veteran option at a spot where the right addition can change the ceiling of the offense, even if there is no confirmed interest yet and the final decision remains somewhere ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Duke Is Leaning On One Veteran As Its New Offense Takes Shape
After an ACC Championship run, Duke heads into the 2026 season with a lot of fresh faces and plenty of questions on offense. The departures from last years team have opened the door for new transfers and younger receivers to sort out roles, and that has made tight end Jeremiah Hasley one of the more important returners in camp. Coming off a productive 2025 season, he has been part of the early structure as the Blue Devils work to settle on who can help carry a revamped passing game.
Hasleys value goes beyond what he does as a target. With so many unproven options around him, the veteran tight end is also being counted on to help set the tone as Duke pieces together its next offense. If the new group is going to come together quickly, it will likely need steady players like Hasley to give the staff a reliable starting point while the rest of the depth chart sorts itself out. [Read more 🡒]