Duke always seems to be an afterthought in the ACC. For that matter, so does Wake Forest, which won 9 games last year and Purdue on Saturday, but Duke is your defending ACC Champion, and won 9 games last year. In 2024, when Manny Diaz arrived, they won 9 games too. They won at Illinois on Saturday to move to 2-0, and Manny Diaz is a rock-solid 20-9 (11-5) in the ACC since he arrived.
The win today was especially significant. Many considered Duke’s ACC title the result of fortunate tie-break rule, but hey, Duke didn’t make the rules; they just seized the opportunity when it arrived and beat a good Virginia team for the ACC Title. Then they won their bowl game.
Still, questions surrounded Duke. Saturday they faced the Big 10 opponent Illinois. Illinois, the last 2 years, was probably the best of the Big 10’s non-playoff teams. They had won 19 games with 2 straight top-25 seasons.
Illinois had become a high-quality football program. What did Duke going there and winning 31-27 proved the Blue Devils aren’t going anywhere. Just because the jersey doesn’t say Clemson or Florida State doesn’t mean it’s not time to recognize Duke as a player in college football. Maybe not playoff caliber, but somewhere among the top 15-30 football schools out there.
What they’ve become is a physical, in-your-face football team. They rushed for 170 yards today behind emerging star Nate Sheppard, who had 147 yards on the ground. Manny Diaz withstood the departure of QB Darian Mensah, and several other players, but he keeps winning. Manny Diaz is one of the ACC’s top coaches, and that’s a fact. They should be 4-0 heading to Georgia Tech, whose offense is currently a total mess. Duke could very well get to the midpoint of the season 6-0 with that signature Illinois win.
Miami has built such a gap in the ACC that it’s hard to see another team sneaking through and winning the league, even with what happened last year, but is Duke going to be a factor in the league yet again? You bet.
