{"id":911028,"date":"2026-06-05T22:48:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T22:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/911028\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T22:48:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T22:48:15","slug":"duke-football-preview-2026-the-blue-devils-keep-on-winning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/911028\/","title":{"rendered":"Duke Football Preview 2026: The Blue Devils Keep On Winning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Duke<\/a> won the ACC Championship in football.<\/p>\n

It still doesn’t seem right, and it might have taken a ton of crazy things to make it happen, but at this point, we shouldn’t be surprised.<\/p>\n

Duke football<\/a> wins.<\/p>\n

(And, by the way, Duke totally deserved to be in the College Football Playoff as a Power Four champion, but that’s in the past.)<\/p>\n

Has Miami ever won an ACC Championship? No, and it has 35 overall wins over the last four years.<\/p>\n

Since 2022, Florida State<\/a> has 30 wins. Duke has 35, with three nine-win campaigns and an eight-win run in 2023.<\/p>\n

Over the last three years, Clemson and Duke both won 26 games. Louisville<\/a> is better with 28 wins, but does it have an ACC Championship? No.<\/p>\n

Duke Football Keeps Proving Everyone Wrong\"NovNov 29, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils<\/a> head coach Manny Diaz looks on against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons<\/a> during the fourth quarter at Wallace Wade Stadium.\u00a9 Zachary Taft-Imagn Images (\u00a9 Zachary Taft-Imagn Images)Duke Quick Hits<\/p>\n

Head Coach: Manny Diaz (3rd year, 18-9; 6th year overall, 39-24)<\/p>\n

Best Case \/ Worst Case: Another nine-win season\/Just miss a bowl game<\/p>\n

Biggest Question: Can the Blue Devils<\/a> replace all the passing game stars?<\/p>\n

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It might not always be pretty, and there were a few schedule breaks, but nine-win seasons are nine-win seasons, and Manny Diaz has two in his first two years.<\/p>\n

It’ll take a lot of work, though, to hit three in a row.<\/p>\n

– 2026 Duke Schedule Analysis<\/a><\/p>\n

Duke Key 2025 Stats<\/p>\n

Total Yards: Opponents 5,939, Duke 5,929<\/p>\n

4th Down Conversions: Duke 32-of-43 (74%), Opponents 15-of-30 (50%)<\/p>\n

Tackles for Loss: Duke 93 for 304 yards, Opponents 75 for 327 yards<\/p>\n

Offense<\/p>\n

The passing game was amazing with an ACC-leading 285 yards per game, and it made up for a slew of problems by scoring and scoring some more, averaging an ACC-best 34.6 points per game.<\/p>\n

And now it’s up to longtime offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer to keep it all going with a whole slew of new parts.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s Working<\/p>\n

The running game will be solid. The Blue Devils lived on a great passing attack, but they were 6-1 when running for more than 140 yards.<\/p>\n

Nate Sheppard<\/a> earned Second Team All-ACC honors with 1,132 yards and 11 touchdowns, averaging 5.7 yards per pop, and he caught 37 passes. Now he’ll be used even more.<\/p>\n

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The line should be okay. All-star blockers Justin Pickett<\/a> is done at guard, and Brian Parker II is gone at tackle, but Matt Craycraft is back at center, and Jordan Larsen is a good veteran guard.<\/p>\n

The tackle concern should be solved with two great signings, landing Braden Miller from Cal and Nick Del Grande from Coastal Carolina<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There’s a problem with the receiving corps – more on this in a moment – but Duke might have patched things together.<\/p>\n

Tight end Jeremiah Halsey is one of the best in the ACC, and Jared Richardson<\/a> (Penn) and Javen Nicholas (Charlotte<\/a>) were promising signings who combined for 150 catches in their respective teams.<\/p>\n

What Needs Work<\/p>\n

Darian Mensah<\/a> is at Miami. He was expected to be a Blue Devil, Miami wanted him, things got contentious, and … he’s a Hurricane. <\/p>\n

He didn’t run at all, but he led the ACC with close to 4,000 yards and 34 touchdown passes with just six picks.<\/p>\n

Walker Eget is a big passer from San Jose State<\/a> with plenty of experience, but he threw 19 picks over the last two seasons. Last year’s star recruit Dan Mahan has a world of upside, but no time logged in.<\/p>\n

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The receiving corps took a hit. Leading receiver Cooper Barkate<\/a> and his 72 catches for 1,106 yards and seven touchdowns are in Miami now. <\/p>\n

No. 2 receiver Que’Sean Brown left for Virginia Tech<\/a>, and third-leading receiver Sahmir Hagans graduated.<\/p>\n

No one can obviously prevent all turnovers, but Duke was 6-0 when it didn’t give the ball away, and 3-5 when it did. So start with this – don’t turn it over a lot.<\/p>\n

The Blue Devils only gave it away multiple times twice – the fumble-fest against Illinois<\/a>, and the meltdown loss against UConn<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Player to Watch<\/p>\n

Walker Eget, QB Sr.
Or Dan Mahan, or former Stanford<\/a> backup quarterback Ari Patu.<\/p>\n

No, Eget isn’t Mensah, but he’s a fifth-year senior who bombed away at San Jose State, throwing for over 5,500 yards and 30 touchdowns over the last two years. And unlike Mensah, he can run a bit.<\/p>\n

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Defense<\/p>\n

It’s a Manny Diaz-coached team. It’s going to have a strong defense.<\/p>\n

Coordinator Jonathan Patke has to get more out of this year’s bunch after doing next to nothing against the pass, even with a decent amount of pressure in the backfield.<\/p>\n

There’s not a ton of starting talent returning, but there’s some hope from the returning parts of the rotation, and the transfer portal signings aren’t bad.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s Working<\/p>\n

The pass rush. It wasn’t nearly as good as it was in 2024, but the pressure was still there, and the tackles for loss came in bunches.<\/p>\n

The Blue Devils got 11 or more tackles for loss in six games and won all six. The staff will manufacture the production from several spots – the scheme works.<\/p>\n

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The 2 in the 4-2-5 are good. The linebackers are among the team’s top all-around playmakers, and now there’s more experience.<\/p>\n

The combination of Luke Mergott inside and Kendall Johnson<\/a> on the outside combined for 127 stops and ten tackles for loss.<\/p>\n

Most of that was Mergott, but Johnson will crank up the stats in a rotation with veteran Nick Morris – if Morris can stay healthy after being hurt for most of the last two years.<\/p>\n

Takeaways. Duke turnovers tend to matter more than the takeaways, but the defense makes up for a lot of problems by forcing mistakes – like getting ripped to shreds in the Sun Bowl against Arizona State, but winning thanks to three big takeaways.<\/p>\n

Duke came up with 24 turnovers and went 6-1 when forcing multiple takeaways.<\/p>\n

What Needs Work<\/p>\n

Stop someone on third downs. There was too much talent and experience, and too much good coaching around, for Duke to be as bad as it was at getting off the field.<\/p>\n

This was a positive for the 2024 defense, but last year there were times when third down stops became a rumor, allowing 45% conversion rate or worse in eight games. That goes hand-in-hand with …<\/p>\n

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The pass defense has to be stronger. And it has to do it without corner Chandler Rivers<\/a> and top safety Caleb Weaver. <\/p>\n

Granted, teams had to try throwing to keep up the pace, but Duke had the third-worst pass defense in America, allowing 276.8 yards per game.<\/p>\n

The defensive front needs to be far better without last year’s top guys. The front didn’t do enough, considering it had so much experience and upside.<\/p>\n

Now, needing four new starters, the coaching staff has to find a way to keep generating pressure while also being stronger against the run.<\/p>\n

Player to Watch<\/p>\n

Luke Mergott, LB Jr.
The 6-3, 225-pound veteran was one of the team leaders with 90 tackles, a sack, seven tackles for loss, and two interceptions – one of them a very, very big one in the ACC Championship win over Virginia. He’ll be an All-ACC defender this year.<\/p>\n

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Keys to the Season<\/p>\n

Get decent production at quarterback without a slew of mistakes.<\/p>\n

Replace the defensive front four and get more playmaking when the ball is in the air.<\/p>\n

Hope the receiving corps can be an instant bright spot.<\/p>\n

Player Who Needs To Shine<\/p>\n

Owen Wafle, DT Soph.
The hope is that the former Penn State Nittany Lion grows into the job on the inside. <\/p>\n

He’s built for the position, quick, and has the upside to eventually become a top interior pass rusher. For a brand new group of starters on the defensive front, he’ll be thrown to the wolves.<\/p>\n

Biggest Concern<\/p>\n

Getting the same offensive production
Darian Mensah was terrific – he was an elite get who led the way to the ACC title. <\/p>\n

The quarterbacks in place are good, and the stats should be fine, but there’s a drop-off. It’ll take something special to come close to leading the ACC in scoring again.<\/p>\n

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Biggest Game<\/p>\n

at Virginia, October 24
You could play the 2025 ACC season a million times and not get Duke vs Virginia in the ACC Championship, but it happened. <\/p>\n

The rematch kicks off a run of three road games in four weeks – NC State and Miami are the others – and this might be the easiest in the bunch.<\/p>\n

Transfer Portal<\/p>\n

The Blue Devils lost the high-end stars of last year, but overall, they were able to load up on players who fit the style on both sides of the ball.<\/p>\n

It’s a true strength-in-numbers class, and lots of holes are filled, but the team’s best safety (Terry Moore), top receivers (Cooper Barkate and Que’Sean Brown) are gone, along with Mr. Mensah.<\/p>\n

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Best Signing<\/p>\n

Braden Miller, OT (Cal)
While he was a spot starter for Cal, the 6-6, 315-pounder will fit right in at one of the Duke tackle spots. He’s a good veteran who can play on either side. The coaching staff targeted him, and it got the guy.<\/p>\n

Biggest Loss<\/p>\n

Darian Mensah, QB (Miami)
Two years – one with Tulane, one with Duke – hitting 67% for 6,696 yards and 56 touchdowns with 12 picks. Throw in the whopping 8.5 yards per attempt, and yeah, he’s that good.<\/p>\n

Other Names to Know<\/p>\n

Javen Nicholas, WR (Charlotte)<\/p>\n

Che Ojarikre, S (Stanford)<\/p>\n

Nick Del Grande, OT (Coastal Carolina)<\/p>\n

CFN Season Prediction<\/p>\n

Duke found a way to win most of the close games last season.<\/p>\n

It managed to get by Clemson by one, North Carolina<\/a> by a touchdown, and in the thrillers over Virginia and Arizona State.<\/p>\n

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Blah, blah, blah – who cares when you win the ACC Championship – but Duke was closer to being 5-7 and not making a bowl than 7-5 and getting a shot at the ACC title.<\/p>\n

CFN Prediction: 6-6
So while it seems low to think the Blue Devils might struggle to get to .500, remember, that’s only a game off what last year’s team did, and this version has far too many replacements to deal with.<\/p>\n

It should get to 3-1 with wins over Tulane, Stanford, and William & Mary – and calling a loss at Illinois – but there are too many ACC road games after that.<\/p>\n

Georgia Tech<\/a>, Virginia, NC State, Wake Forest, and … Miami.<\/p>\n

Throw in home games against Clemson, North Carolina, and an improved Boston College<\/a>, and Duke will win a few games it shouldn’t, lose a few games it shouldn’t, and for the first time in school history, it’ll go to a bowl game five seasons in a row.<\/p>\n

Related: 26 for 2026: 26 Key Questions for the ACC Football Season<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published by College Football News<\/a> on Jun 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football<\/a> section. Add College Football News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Duke won the ACC Championship in football. It still doesn’t seem right, and it might have taken a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":911029,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2026],"tags":[85388,121976,71932,952,32195,9475,49032,332,71264,2036,11013,7643,23949,121975,6504,7,3023,1682,121978,71282,121977,994,8173,121979,941,13394,982,63637,977,966,3201,77603],"class_list":["post-911028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-acc-championship","tag-blue-devil","tag-blue-devils","tag-boston-college","tag-chandler-rivers","tag-charlotte","tag-coastal-carolina","tag-college-football-playoff","tag-cooper-barkate","tag-darian-mensah","tag-duke","tag-duke-blue-devils","tag-duke-football","tag-duke-schedule","tag-florida-state","tag-football","tag-georgia-tech","tag-illinois","tag-jared-richardson","tag-justin-pickett","tag-kendall-johnson","tag-louisville","tag-manny-diaz","tag-nate-sheppard","tag-north-carolina","tag-san-jose-state","tag-stanford","tag-the-blue-devils","tag-uconn","tag-virginia-tech","tag-wake-forest-demon-deacons","tag-walker-eget"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/911028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=911028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/911028\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/911029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=911028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=911028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=911028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}