The Duke football program is brutally disrespected by the betting markets in terms of winning the 2025 ACC Championship game. FanDuel gives the Blue Devils +3000 odds to win the conference championship this coming season, the sixth-best odds in the conference.
ACC Championship game winner per FanDuel
Clemson: +110
Miami: +380
Louisville: +800
SMU: +950
Georgia Tech: +1300
Duke: +3000
According to the sports books, Manny Diaz's club is a longshot to win the conference championship game in 2025, but the Blue Devils could be an exciting sleeper pick to wager on, given the reloaded roster heading into this coming campaign.
It all starts with Darian Mensah, one of the top transfer portal quarterbacks who Duke signed to a two-year, $8 million deal. The rising redshirt sophomore is coming into Durham with serious expectations to lead the program to one of its best seasons in years after an extremely productive redshirt freshman campaign for Mensah at Tulane.
The receiving core for Duke isn't necessarily the most proven, but it has tons of upside. The program is bringing in Andrel Anthony from Oklahoma and Cooper Barkate from Harvard, two guys who were extremely productive while on the field. Anthony has dealt with injuries throughout his career, limiting his playing time, but has shown his skills when available.
Barkate tallied 1,064 yards and 11 touchdowns on 63 receptions as a junior for the Crimson.
Rising sophomore Que'Sean Brown is also due for a breakout campaign after showing flashes as a rookie.
Duke is poised to have possibly the best defense in the ACC after boasting one of the best front sevens in college football a season ago. The Blue Devils finished second in the nation in tackles for loss (116), fourth in the nation in sacks (43), and 26th nationally in third-down conversion percentage (33.8).
Diaz is bringing back some of his key contributors from 2024 to keep Duke a defensive-minded team. Rising senior cornerback Chandler Rivers is viewed as one of the top returning secondary pieces in college football, and with other high-caliber names back in the program, such as safety Terry Moore and linebacker Tre Freeman, the Blue Devils will look to dominate defensively once again.
With a revamped offense and a defensive unit that's already proven to be extremely efficient, Duke football is a great sleeper bet to come out of the ACC on top.