The Duke football program is heading into the 2025 campaign looking for its first ACC Championship since 1989, and how dominant the Blue Devils have been at home over the last few seasons could be the reason Manny Diaz and his guys finally make it over the hump. Over the last three seasons, Duke football is 16-3 at Wallace Wade Stadium, and with several crucial matchups coming at home in 2025, this could be the reason Duke is atop the ACC come the end of the regular season and fighting for a College Football Playoff spot.
Duke has two marquee games coming at Wallace Wade in 2025, most notably a week two dual against projected top-ten team in the nation, Illinois, in week two. An early game against potentially the best squad in the Big 10 could alone set the Blue Devils' ceiling on the 2025 season.
The Fighting Illini come in at No. 11 in ESPN's preseason top 25 rankings, and Duke has a shot as an unranked team to set the tone with a major upset. With the dominance that the Blue Devils have displayed at home over the last few seasons, this is a perfect opportunity for Diaz's club to propel itself into national recognition.
Duke has seemingly flown under the radar in terms of legitimate ACC Championship and CFP contenders, but these few games are what's going to determine how far the Blue Devils can realistically go.
The Blue Devils will also host Georgia Tech at home in week seven, a projected top three or four team in the ACC. Now, Duke obviously has several other games at Wallace Wade in 2025, but none near the caliber of the Illini or Yellow Jackets. If Duke can squeeze out wins versus both Illinois and Georgia Tech, there's no reason why it can't find itself as a top-20 team in the nation and right atop the ACC standings as the end of the regular season rolls around.
After Diaz brought the fourth season of nine or more wins to Durham in program history in 2024, it felt like Duke would get a lot more recognition on a national scale, especially after bringing in one of the top transfer portal quarterbacks in Darian Mensah, mixed with returning a plethora of key defensive returners from one of the best defensive units in college football a season ago. However, the Blue Devils are still seen in that middle ground of the ACC.
An ACC Championship and a shot at the CFP is a big ask for Duke football in 2025, but with this talented group, along with the dominance Duke has displayed at home as of late, securing two marquee wins at Wallace Wade could decide the fate of the season by itself.