Duke opened the season with the kind of result Manny Diaz wanted: a 17-3 home win over Tulane, a game that wasn’t always clean but did show exactly what the Blue Devils wanted to be on Saturday.
The headline was the same from start to finish. Duke leaned on the run, rolled up 250 rushing yards, and made life miserable for Tulane’s offense.
Diaz called it an “identity” win, and that fits. The Blue Devils controlled the line of scrimmage, but the opener also left them with one glaring concern heading into next week’s trip to Illinois: the passing game.
There was no bigger force on the field than Nate Sheppard. With Duke not getting much done through the air, the offense essentially ran through him, and he delivered in a huge way.
Sheppard finished with a career-high 227 yards on a career-high 35 carries, and he scored both Duke touchdowns. He had extra motivation entering the opener, and after being overlooked in the preseason, he looks like the kind of back nobody will be overlooking for long if this keeps up.
The defense had its own standout performances, starting with Bryce Davis. Duke fans were waiting for a breakout, and the former elite recruit wasted no time delivering it.
He posted six tackles, three tackles-for-loss and two sacks, helping drive a dominant defensive showing. Duke needed someone to step into a bigger edge role after what it lost there, and after one week, Davis looks like he might be even better than advertised.
Tyshon Reed also made his presence felt in the trenches. His stat line was modest - half a tackle for loss and a pass defended - but his energy and disruption were constant problems for Tulane. The coaching staff noticed, too, naming him one of its player of the week honorees.
Nick Morris Jr. was the other defensive player of the week, and his return mattered. Back in the middle after a season-ending leg injury last year, Morris collected six tackles and helped steady the defense. His absence was a major reason Duke slipped on that side of the ball a year ago, and with him back, the unit looks dangerous again.
The one area that came out of the opener looking shaky was quarterback. Walker Eget, the San Jose State transfer, was uneven in his first start for Duke.
He went 13-of-26 for 131 yards, and the offense never really threatened through the air. Diaz didn’t sound eager to make a quick change, but the pressure is there.
Sophomore Dan Mahan got some snaps later in the game and gave Duke a different look with his running ability, so that situation is worth watching.
If Duke wants to be more than just a middling team in the ACC, it has to get more from that spot.
Jared Richardson was another quiet part of the offense. The Penn transfer was expected to step in as Duke’s top receiver with Cooper Barkate joining Darian Mensah at Miami, but he didn’t catch a pass and was targeted only twice.
The quarterback play was the biggest reason for that, but Jonathan Brewer will need to find ways to get Richardson involved next week. He can change a game on the outside - Duke just has to get him the ball.
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The NFLs cutdown day offered a useful snapshot of where Duke football stands right now, and it was an encouraging one. Thirteen former Blue Devils landed on active 53-man rosters ahead of the regular season, a sign that the programs alumni pipeline is still producing players who can stick at the highest level.
Dukes reach did not stop there. Four more former Blue Devils opened the year on reserve/injured lists with a designation to return, while four others stayed in the league on practice squads. Add in a 2026 NFL Draft and free-agent period that sent three players off the board and brought eight more into pro camps, and the picture is clear enough for anyone around the program: Duke has turned NFL presence into another recruiting point, even if the full payoff of this years class is still unfolding. [Read more 🡒]
Dukes Ground Game Suddenly Carries Real Weight Against Illinois
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The Blue Devils have a legitimate rushing threat in Nate Sheppard, and that gives this game a very different shape than the usual underdog script. If Illinois wants to control the afternoon, the obvious answer is to load up against the run and make Dukes quarterback carry more of the burden, but that approach comes with its own risk if the Devils can keep winning early downs on the ground. [Read more 🡒]
Manny Diaz Just Gave Duke Fans A Real Reason To Believe Again
A new season can feel like a referendum on a programs direction, and Duke got a useful answer Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium. The Blue Devils handled Tulane 17-3 with a defense that set the tone from the opening snaps, keeping the Green Wave off the board until the fourth quarter and giving the home crowd a much different kind of opening-weekend energy than the one theyve grown used to.
There was offense to build around, too, and it came mostly through sophomore running back Nate Sheppard, who looked like the kind of back who can carry more than just a workload. For Manny Diaz, the bigger takeaway was the mentality after an offseason defined by losses, with the coach pointing to the way his players have responded and expressing confidence in the belief inside the program. The early results do not fix everything, but they do give Duke something it has lacked for a while: a reason to think this can be more than a temporary spark. [Read more 🡒]