The Duke football program has continued to be overlooked and underrated as the offseason has moved forward, as the Blue Devils aren't viewed by most analysts and networks as a true contender despite coming off a 9-4 season in the first year with Manny Diaz as head coach. However, there's finally a college football expert who's buying into Duke football for 2025.
The Athletic's Stewart Mandel released his ACC football projections for the 2025 season, and has Duke football at the very top, finishing third in the conference standings behind only Clemson and Miami. Mandel predicts the Blue Devils will have a 9-3 overall record with a 6-3 record in ACC play.
"Folks are sleeping on Manny Diaz’s team despite the Blue Devils winning nine games last year," Mandel said. "Former Tulane QB Darian Mensah, another $3 million-plus guy, should be a notable upgrade from Maalik Murphy. The O-line is mostly intact. And the defense, which ranked No. 3 in the ACC last year, is made up largely of seniors."
Duke won nine or more games in a season for just the fourth time in program history in 2024, and the program did it under a first-year head coach. As Mandel said, the Blue Devils are upgrading at quarterback significantly with Mensah and have added several talented skill position guys via the transfer portal.
Diaz is also returning veteran running back Jaquez Moore, who missed the majority of last season with an injury, and last season's RB2 in Peyton Jones.
The offense is what held the Blue Devils back in 2024 a lot of the time, as it was the elite defense that propelled the unit to nine wins. Beyond that, Duke arguably got better defensively this offseason.
The Blue Devils are returning star cornerback Chandler Rivers, who's viewed as one of the top returning secondary pieces in college football. Along with returning several other key players from last season's defensive unit, Duke looks to again have one of the top defenses not only in the ACC, but in all of college football.
In 2024, Duke ranked 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).
As most analysts and insiders around the country are sleeping on Duke in 2025, there's finally a prominent name who sees the upside with the Blue Devils this season.