Manny Diaz has Duke football rolling again, and this time the Blue Devils look built a little differently.
Through three weeks of the 2026 season, Duke is 3-0 and right in the mix near the top of the ACC standings alongside Miami, Virginia Tech, and Pittsburgh. After an offseason packed with outside doubt, the Blue Devils have responded by looking more connected and more complete than most expected. Diaz and his staff have them overachieving for the third straight year, and this version may be the most balanced team he has coached in Durham.
That balance is the big shift. In 2024, Duke leaned on its defense.
In 2025, the offense carried the load. In 2026, both sides are pulling their weight, and that has given the Blue Devils a much sturdier identity.
They know what they are trying to be: a team that runs the ball, controls the line of scrimmage, and lets each piece do its job.
Diaz pointed to that chemistry after Duke’s 35-7 Week 3 win at home over Stanford.
"There's a connectivity to this team that's really unusual," Diaz said. "And again, it's not that we didn't have it last year; it's just at a different level. And it's the combination of the guys we have in the locker room."
The offense has been built around the ground game, and sophomore Nate Sheppard keeps giving it real bite. He turned in another elite outing against Stanford, while CJ Campbell provided strong support in a complementary role.
Quarterback Walker Eget and the passing game are not being asked to carry the show. Eget has settled in as a sixth-year transfer who takes what’s there, avoids forcing the action, and fits exactly what Duke wants from the position.
On the other side, Duke’s defense is doing its part by attacking the line of scrimmage. That showed up against Stanford, a team with the same goal. The Blue Devils have depth up front on the defensive line and at linebacker, and that strength in the front seven has become a major part of the formula.
It may not be flashy, but Duke seems to know exactly how it wants to win. And through three games, that plan has been working.
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Dukes New Identity Is Giving Blue Devils Fans Real Reason To Buy In
Dukes football season has opened with something Blue Devils fans havent always had much of lately: a style that feels sturdy, intentional and built to last. The 3-0 start has come behind a physical, run-focused attack and a defense that has made a clear leap from a year ago, giving the program a different kind of credibility as it heads deeper into the schedule. Even in a sport that can change quickly, there is a sense around this team that its identity is not an accident.
The latest proof came in the win over Stanford, a game that reinforced how well Duke is controlling the terms on both sides of the ball. With William & Mary, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Virginia all still ahead, the early test now becomes whether this version of the Blue Devils can keep carrying over as the opponent quality rises. For a fan base looking for something real to invest in, the first three weeks have offered more than hope, and maybe a reason to believe this start can mean something beyond September. [Read more 🡒]
Walker Eget Is Giving Duke A Bigger ACC Question
Duke kept building momentum under Manny Diaz with a home win over Stanford, its third straight after the road victory at Illinois. The Blue Devils looked more balanced on both sides of the ball, and Nate Sheppard continued to stand out as an important piece of the offense while the team showed signs of real progress.
Walker Egets latest outing added another layer to the conversation. After a strong showing against Illinois, the quarterback was again part of the reason Dukes offense looked more functional, but the larger ACC question is how far that stability can carry if the game script turns messy and the margin for error shrinks. [Read more 🡒]
Dukes Fast Start Is Starting To Feel Very Real
A 3-0 start always buys a little attention, but Dukes early-season surge under Manny Diaz is beginning to look less like a hot opening and more like something sturdier. The Blue Devils have leaned on a balanced effort, with sophomore running back Nate Sheppard emerging as the kind of offensive centerpiece that can carry a September run, while quarterback Walker Eget has settled in as a more reliable game manager.
The defense has started to match that energy, too, coming off a sharp outing against Stanford that showed more pressure up front and better disruption across the board. When a team opens this cleanly, the question shifts quickly from whether it can contend to how long the momentum can last, and Duke is now facing the sort of attention that follows a fast start only if the foundation underneath it feels real. [Read more 🡒]