Duke football: Training camp nears as Mike Elko looks to make impact

Training camp is inching closer for the Duke football team as a daunting schedule looms. 

The 2022 season will mark a new era in Duke football, as Mike Elko takes over the reigns as the gridiron general of the royal blue and white.

Elko served as the defensive coordinator at Texas A&M the past three seasons and he will embark on his season as a first head. However, he is certainly no stranger to the ACC, having been the defensive coordinator at Wake Forest and Notre Dame before heading to College Station.

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The schedule that the Blue Devils will face this year will be very challenging, facing potentially four ranked teams.

Here is a game-by-game rundown of each of the Blue Devils’ 12 games this season.

Duke football with few easy victories on schedule:

Game 1: Temple Owls

Duke opens the Mike Elko era at home on against the Temple Owls.

Like Duke, Temple had a very underwhelming season last year, winning only one conference game and having their coach being kicked to the curb.

The Devils will get a favorable draw here, since Temple has to fly all the way from Philly to play a team motivated to give their new coach a win in his debut in front of the Duke faithful.

Game 2: at Northwestern Wildcats

Two schools known more for their academics than football teams, nevertheless, Duke and Northwestern have had somewhat of a non-conference rivalry going on in the past few years.

Duke won the game at home last year, jumping out to a 30-7 lead before holding on to win, 30-23.

Despite the game being on the road this year, Northwestern has fallen on some hard times in the past few years.

The Duke football team will probably be slightly better.

Game 3: North Carolina A&T Aggies

It’s very rare to have a game scheduled with a team you played last year unless it’s a major in-state rivalry like Florida and Florida State.

Playing at home, this should be a walk in the park for the Duke football program. Nothing more to say here.