Let's talk about Duke football.
Best / Worst Case Record for :
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Duke
For the better part of the last decade, Duke was pretty darn good. There were six bowl games from 2012-2018, three bowl wins, and a Coastal Division Title. This all happened under David Cutcliffe who did a wonderful job during his tenure as Duke head coach. In the last three years of ACC Coaches, only Georgia Tech’s Geoff Collins won fewer total games. Cutcliffe worked magic in Durham, but 2022 is a good time for new head coach Mike Elko to take Duke in another direction. The well-regarded Elko doesn’t have a ton of talent to work with, but Blue Devils fans will be patient as this is likely to be a multi-year rebuild of the Duke program.
Will Go 7-5 (3-5) if:
Duke can get off to a fast start. 7-5 might seem like a stretch for a team coming off a winless ACC season, but hear me out. Duke opens the season with Temple, at Northwestern, North Carolina A&T, and Kansas. You tell me that Duke can’t win 3 or 4 of those games. They beat three (Northwestern, North Carolina A&T, Kansas) of them just last year. Georgia Tech is a toss-up and a couple of upsets along the way, and it could happen. Duke’s defense was an absolute train-wreck last year. It won’t be fixed in one year, but Elko is a defensive guy, and if he can just get marginal improvement Duke will be in a lot more games. The reliable RB Mateo Durant is gone, so Duke needs new players to step up in hurry.
Will Go 2-10 (0-8) if:
The roster is just too bare. There is no RB Mateo Durant to rely on, and there are question marks at QB. The receivers are decent, but there’s not much else. An awful defense doesn’t have much talent or depth back, so how will it hold. Duke’s best chance at an ACC win is Georgia Tech which is still on the road. Even the Northwestern and Kansas games are road trips. Of Duke’s 8 ACC losses, only one was by less than 25 points. Duke could be better, and more competitive and still go winless in the ACC.
