With under a week away until the Duke football program begins its 2025 season against Elon on August 28th, the Blue Devil faithful are anxiously awaiting the team taking the field for the first time. There are high expectations for the program this year, as Duke is coming off a 9-4 season in the first under head coach Manny Diaz, just the fourth season of nine or more wins in program history.
The Blue Devils have legitimate aspirations to compete at the top of the ACC and fight for a College Football Playoff spot, and with a relatively light conference slate compared to the rest of the ACC, it's certainly doable. However, this one game on the schedule could decide the ceiling of the entire season, despite it being very early on. Win, and a myriad of doors of opportunity open up for the squad. Lose, and it might all be over right then and there.
Duke's Week Two test against Illinois could decide fate of the season
The Blue Devils will host Illinois, the No. 12 team in the Preseason AP Poll, at Wallace Wade Stadium in the team's second matchup of the 2025 season. Not only will it be a fantastic game for the fans to watch, but it may decide any potential the program has in 2025 on its own.
The reason being, Duke's ACC schedule is full of games the Blue Devils will likely be favored in. Diaz and his group will only face two schools ranked in the top seven of the ACC Preseason Media Poll: Clemson on the road and Georgia Tech at home.
Aside from those, Duke "should" win its other six ACC contests. In terms of the non-con, Duke faces UConn, Tulane, and Elon. This should be another three wins.
So, if the Blue Devils can pull out a huge victory against one of the top teams in the Big 10, especially so early on in the season, reaching a 9-3, 10-2, or even an 11-1 record is in the cards. However, if Duke loses, especially in blowout fashion, there are very few games left on the slate that allow the program to boost its resume in terms of a potential CFP spot.
With few marquee matchups on the schedule, Duke must take down the Fighting Illini to have a chance at its first CFP appearance in program history. Even in theory, if Duke takes down Georgia Tech at home and, in miracle fashion, Clemson on the road, there may not be enough on the resume to get the Blue Devils in the CFP. Granted, if Duke somehow beats Clemson and Georgia Tech, it will almost certainly be playing for an ACC Championship.
Duke kicks it off in just six days against FCS opponent Elon, and Duke fans everywhere are losing patience.