Duke football is coming off a season that raised the bar in Durham, but not everyone is buying into another run near the top of the ACC.
The Blue Devils captured their first outright ACC Championship since 1962, and even after losing Darian Mensah to the Transfer Portal, there’s still enough reason to think this team won’t just fall off a cliff. San Jose State transfer QB Walker Eget should bring some stability under center, and rising sophomore Nate Sheppard might be the best running back in the ACC. If Manny Diaz can get his beleaguered defense moving in the right direction, Duke has a path to stay in the ACC mix.
CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford, though, sees a much rougher year ahead. In his ACC record projections for 2026, he has Duke finishing 6-6. The part that really stands out is one of the losses he forecasts: a home defeat to Bill Belichick and North Carolina.
That’s the kind of prediction that feels hard to square with what happened last season. Duke went on the road and beat UNC, and the idea that the Tar Heels suddenly become the team to hand the Blue Devils a loss in Durham doesn’t exactly line up with the way things have gone in Chapel Hill.
Crawford’s overall list for Duke is straightforward enough. He projects losses to Illinois, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Virginia, Miami, and Clemson.
A 6-6 finish would count as a step back in Diaz’s third season. If Duke simply flipped the UNC result and landed at 7-5 with the rest of the slate unchanged, that would look a lot more like a solid year for a program dealing with major roster turnover and late changes in the Transfer Portal window.
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Scheyer has already stacked multiple Elite Eight runs and a Final Four on his rsum, so the conversation around Duke is no longer about whether the program belongs in the national elite. The more interesting question is how quickly this group can turn that talent into something deeper in March, especially with so much attention on the new pieces and the pressure that comes with living at the top of the rankings. [Read more 🡒]
Duke Freshman Suddenly Looks Ready For A Much Bigger Role
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For a program that always values size with skill, Boumtje Boumtjes rise is hard to ignore, especially with next season approaching and the expectation that he will have a significant role. The bigger question now is how quickly that summer production translates once he arrives in Durham, where the Blue Devils will be looking for him to bring the same versatility and presence that made him one of the most decorated young players in international play. [Read more 🡒]
Dukes ACC Follow-Up Suddenly Feels Far More Fragile
Dukes ACC title run last season came with a surprising backdrop, as Manny Diaz guided a 7-5 team to the league crown behind quarterback Darian Mensah. But the roster that made that climb has been heavily reshaped, with Mensah and 17 other players moving on in the offseason and veteran quarterback Walker Eget arriving from San Jose State to help stabilize the most important spot on the field.
The concern now is less about whether Duke can compete and more about how much of last years formula is still intact. With so many new faces and a schedule that offers little margin for error, analysts are already wondering if the Blue Devils can keep pace with the momentum they built a year ago or if the follow-up to that unexpected breakthrough will be much more difficult than it first appeared. [Read more 🡒]