Duke spent its bye week watching the ACC picture change around it, and the Blue Devils stayed right where they were: unbeaten and very much in the hunt.
The 2026 season has already turned Duke into one of the league’s early surprises. After a 4-0 start, the Blue Devils have gone from a team with modest outside expectations to one that now looks like a legitimate ACC threat. Given everything the program dealt with in the offseason, simply being in this position would have felt far-fetched not long ago.
The biggest shakeup came from Pitt’s win over Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Before that result, four ACC teams were sitting at 4-0.
After it, that group shrank to three. Duke, Miami and Pittsburgh are the conference’s only undefeated teams left.
There’s a catch, though, for Pitt. The Panthers lost starting quarterback Mason Heintschel to a torn ACL, a major setback that changes the outlook for the rest of their 2026 run.
Miami remains in front at 5-0 overall and 3-0 in conference play. Pitt is also 5-0, though the Panthers are 2-0 in ACC games. Duke has only played one league contest so far, but it was a convincing one: a 35-7 win over Stanford.
The schedule is about to get a lot more revealing. Duke comes out of the bye with a trip to Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Oct. 10, then returns home to face North Carolina at Wallace Wade Stadium on Oct.
- Both matchups look very winnable on paper.
And the path ahead is still manageable. Duke is set to face just five of the ACC’s top 10 teams - Miami, Clemson, Wake Forest, Virginia and NC State. That kind of setup gives Manny Diaz’s team a real opening to stay near the top of the conference standings and keep building on this strong start.
In Other News...
Duke's Newcomers Already Created The Roster Battle Fans Wanted
Dukes annual Countdown to Craziness scrimmage did exactly what fans hoped it would do: create a little early-season noise around a roster that suddenly looks a lot more interesting. The white team edged the blue team 29-24, and the event offered a first real glimpse at a mix of newcomers who already seem ready to push for minutes. Freshman Deron Rippey Jr., Patrick Ngongba and transfer John Blackwell all flashed in ways that should only sharpen the competition heading into the season.
There will be some growing pains along the way, especially for freshmen like Joaqim Boumtje Boumtje and Cameron Williams, who are still adjusting to the speed and physicality of college basketball. But that is part of the appeal of this group, too. Duke wanted roster tension, internal pressure and a reason for fans to lean in early, and the scrimmage suggested the Blue Devils may have all three before October is even over. [Read more 🡒]
Dukes Season Kickoff Hinted At Two Dangerous ACC Contenders
Dukes annual Countdown to Craziness did what it is supposed to do: turn an offseason showcase into an early look at a program that expects to matter. The men and women both got their moment in front of the Cameron crowd, with Jon Scheyer and Kara Lawson front and center as the school leaned into the kind of optimism that comes after recent NCAA tournament runs and enough returning buzz to make the ACC race feel very real.
The intrigue, though, is different on each side. Scheyers group looks built to be in the national conversation again, even if it does not have an obvious singular face yet, while Lawsons team arrives with a sharper edge after her latest international success with Team USA. Between the scrimmage flashes and the coach-driven confidence, Duke left the building looking less like a school opening a season and more like one with two teams already measuring themselves against the leagues best. [Read more 🡒]
Duke Fans Got Their First Real Clue About This Roster
Dukes annual Countdown to Craziness offered the first real look at this years group inside Cameron Indoor Stadium, with the Blue-White scrimmage giving fans a chance to size up the rotation and get a feel for how the pieces fit. It was the kind of early October snapshot that does not answer every question, but it does at least start to show which players are ready to make an impression before the games count.
The scrimmage had the usual mix of energy and experimentation, and the evening ended with Team White coming out on top in the Elam ending format, thanks to a three-pointer from Deron Rippey Jr. Duke will not have long to sit on the exhibition notes, either, with a scrimmage against Belmont coming up as the next opportunity to see whether the early flashes translate into something more reliable. [Read more 🡒]