Duke spent the offseason hearing the same story on repeat: too much was lost, too much had changed, too much had walked out the door through the Transfer Portal. Darian Mensah.
Cooper Barkate. Others.
The assumption was that Manny Diaz’s team would take a step back, maybe settle into the bowl-eligibility range and leave the bigger ACC conversation to somebody else.
Two games in, that script already looks busted.
Duke is 2-0, and both wins came against teams that beat the Blue Devils last season. The opener was a 17-3 home win over Tulane.
Then came the bigger statement: a 31-27 road victory over Illinois in Champaign, a clean reversal of last year’s 26-point home loss to the Illini. That’s the kind of early-season result that changes the tone around a program fast.
Diaz made it clear the preseason noise has not been lost on his locker room.
"All they heard the entire offseason was about who left, who left," Diaz said. "And almost the assertion that last year was as good as it ever could get.
And that they couldn't do what last year's team could do. The fact that we've already beaten two programs who last year's team couldn't beat, I think that means a lot to the guys in the locker room, even the guys who were on that team.
What it shows them is the program is still developing, still elevating."
The idea that Duke would simply collapse without Mensah never made much sense. Diaz had already won nine games in his first season at Duke, and that was with Mensah still at Tulane. The Blue Devils matched that nine-win total last year with Mensah at quarterback, but Diaz clearly believed the ceiling was still higher.
The defense was the problem then. It gave up too much and played a major role in five regular-season losses.
Through two games this fall, that unit looks far sturdier. Duke held Tulane to three points in Week 1, then after a shaky start against Illinois, the defense settled in and allowed just three points over the final 30 minutes.
There’s also more pop on offense than Duke showed in the opener. Nate Sheppard remains a major weapon and, as the source material puts it, arguably the best running back in college football right now. And Walker Eget, stepping in for Mensah, answered after an uneven first start by giving Duke what it needed at quarterback against Illinois.
That doesn’t automatically make Duke an ACC Championship lock. But it does make the early skepticism look a lot thinner than it did in August. Two wins over teams that beat them a year ago are hard to shrug off, and this version of Duke is starting to look like more than just a survival act after roster turnover.
In Other News...
Duke Just Won The Kind Of Road Test Fans Have Been Waiting For
For a program looking to prove it could handle a hostile road setting, this was the kind of response Duke needed. The Blue Devils knocked off Illinois 31-27 by taking control in the games middle stretch, turning a tight contest into one they could manage with sharper execution and more poise than they showed early. Walker Eget was a big part of that turnaround, and Nate Sheppard kept the pressure on with two touchdown catches as Duke found ways to make the critical plays when the game was still hanging in the balance.
What stood out most was how the Blue Devils handled the swings in momentum after the opening frustration. Eget settled in after a rough start and delivered a much cleaner night, while Sheppards late fourth-down conversion helped close the door on Illinois comeback chances. For Duke, the bigger question now is whether this was a one-off road success or the start of a team that can keep winning this way when the environment gets tougher. [Read more 🡒]
Walker Eget May Have Just Changed Dukes Whole Season
Walker Egets first road start for Duke looked like the kind of step forward that can alter a season. After a shakier season-opening outing against Tulane, the quarterback looked far more settled at Illinois, finishing 15 of 21 for 206 yards and three touchdowns as the Blue Devils found enough offense to stay in control of a tough road game.
The afternoon did bring a tense moment late, when Eget went down in the fourth quarter and briefly left with an injury scare. Duke still closed out a 31-27 victory, and even with the uncertainty hanging over the final stretch, the bigger takeaway was hard to miss: Egets growth gave the Blue Devils a different look than they had a week earlier. [Read more 🡒]
Duke Suddenly Looks Capable Of Much More Than A 2-0 Start
Dukes 31-27 road win over Illinois did more than move the Blue Devils to 2-0. It gave the program a result that looked sturdier than a typical early-season upset, with Walker Eget throwing for 206 yards and three touchdowns while Nate Sheppard kept piling up production in every direction and helped Duke control enough of the game to leave Champaign with a statement win.
The bigger concern, at least for anyone watching the final minutes, came when Eget had to be helped off the field late in the fourth quarter. Duke has already shown it can survive a tight game away from home, but the next step is learning whether the offense can keep its momentum if the quarterbacks status becomes part of the conversation after what was otherwise the kind of performance that makes a 2-0 start feel like the beginning of something more. [Read more 🡒]