Few teams in the ACC are as fascinating coming into this season as the Duke Blue Devils. Manny Diaz's team has won nine games in back-to-back years, including winning the ACC last fall. Much has been made about the amount of variance this team could potentially offer. While Diaz and company will have to overcome their inherent levels of baked-in volatility, they also need to steal a road game...
When looking at Duke's upcoming football schedule, two games stand out: At Virginia and at Miami.
For Duke to realistically get to nine wins again and have a great shot at playing for a College Football Playoff berth (this time) in the conference title bout, the Blue Devils need to upset either the Hoos in Charlottesville or the Canes in Coral Gables. Duke may have the upward trajectory to pull off one road upset, but not both. They also need to contain two stars ESPN's Adam Rittenberg thinks so highly of...
Of the top non-quarterback playmakers Rittenberg mentioned in his article, two will be facing Duke.
- Miami Hurricanes wide receiver Malachi Toney (Nov. 14)
- Virginia Cavaliers linebacker Kam Robinson (Oct. 23)
Malachi Toney emerged as one of the best receivers in college football during his freshman season with Miami. With Darian Mensah and Cooper Barkate coming over from Duke, he, Mark Fletcher Jr., and the rest of the Hurricanes offense could put any good ACC defense in a blender. Miami may be the presumptive favorite to win the ACC, but it's never has... Virginia nearly won the league last fall.
As for Kam Robinson, he may have only played eight games for the Cavaliers a season ago, but he was every bit the disruptive force for them defensively. He had a blocked punt, two pick-sixes, and a fumble recovery a season ago. It might be apples to oranges, but this is akin to the kind of big-time playmaking ability that made David Pollack a legend at Georgia. Tony Elliott has him back this season.
Diaz and his staff need to figure out how to slow down Robinson and Toney during their ACC games.
Malachi Toney, Kam Robinson could get in Duke's way of repeating in ACC
Not to get too ahead of ourselves here, but the UVA game feels far more navigable than the Miami one. Yes, Virginia may be chomping at the bit to avenge last year's title bout loss to the Blue Devils. However, Virginia does not have anywhere near the robust football history of Miami. UVA should have a good team again this season, but there are so many reasons why Miami is seen as the team to beat.
When reading Bill Connelly's way-too-early ACC predictions post for ESPN.com, he seems to be of the belief that while Duke's offense may regress, its defense could surge forward. Mensah and Barkate largely buoyed the offense a year ago. While they are off to Miami, Walker Eget and company should be more than capable of getting the Blue Devils into the end zone with their offensive attack.
The big key here is the defense needs to return to 2024 form. That was the side of the football that helped Duke win nine games two years ago. Diaz favors that side of the ball, but was he doing work with Mike Elko's players? That remains to be seen... With this being his third year at the helm of the program, everything has to come together for him. Duke has an outside shot of repeating in the ACC.
At this time, Duke has to devise plans to slow down both Toney on offense and Robinson on defense.
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