The Duke football program missed out on a major opportunity to collect a marquee win over No. 9 Illinois, falling in disappointing fashion by a score of 45-19. Turnovers and sloppy offensive execution throughout the second half plagued the team from generating any sort of momentum, as Duke was outscored 31-6 in the second half after entering the halftime locker room down 14-13. However, Manny Diaz has definitely seen some of his guys raise their stock through the first two weeks of the 2025 season. Let's take a look at three risers and two fallers through the Blue Devils' first two games.
The biggest risers and fallers for Duke football through Week 2
Riser: WR Andrel Anthony
Anthony transferred to Duke this offseason after hardly playing in 2023 and 2024 due to injury. He had a shot to become the Blue Devils' WR1, and is taking advantage of his opportunities so far. Against the Fighting Illini, Anthony hauled in five catches for 58 yards and two touchdowns, one of those being an early "Catch of the Year" candidate. The former Michigan Wolverine and Oklahoma Sooner has tallied eight catches for 109 yards and three touchdowns through his first two weeks in Durham, leading the team in receiving touchdowns, ranking second in catches, and third in receiving yards.
Faller: RB Peyton Jones
Peyton Jones was a bigger part of the offense in 2024 than most anticipated heading in due to an injury to Jaquez Moore that limited him for almost the entire season. Jones had an opportunity to be the consistent RB2 for the Blue Devils with Moore back and healthy, but we haven't seen him on the field as much as some once thought. Jones has tallied seven carries for 28 yards and a touchdown on the season, leaving him third on the team in carries and fourth in yards. The junior sits behind Moore, Appalachian State transfer Anderson Castle, and three-star freshman Nate Sheppard as of now.
Riser: DE Vincent Anthony Jr.
Anthony Jr. entered his senior season at Duke poised for a breakout campaign, and he's hit the ground running to begin. Against Illinois, the 6'6, 250-pound defensive end notched 2.5 sacks to give him 3.5 on the year to go along with nine total tackles and a pass deflection. He currently leads the team in sacks and is fourth in tackles. The Durham native has looked like Diaz's top guy in the front seven so far.
Faller: WR Que'Sean Brown
The sophomore Brown was Duke's third-leading receiver in 2024 as a rookie. After the Blue Devils lost their top two wideouts from a season ago, it looked like Brown was set up to take over as the lead receiver, but that hasn't exactly happened. He's tallied seven catches for 110 yards so far this season, ranking second on the team in yards and third in catches. He's also had issues returning punts, with a muffed catch in each of Duke's first two games.
Riser: CB Kimari Robinson
Robinson's stats won't exactly stand out, but he was fantastic for the most part against the Illini, and is starting to see more snaps as a result. With All-ACC safety Terry Moore set to miss at least the first half of the season with a torn ACL, Diaz will need to rely on his depth guys to step up, and Robinson has done that so far. He tallied four tackles against Illinois and now has seven on the season.