The Duke football program missed out on a prime opportunity to collect a marquee win early in the season. The Blue Devils hosted No. 11 Illinois at Wallace Wade Stadium looking to make a statement, and after a solid first half, Duke let the game completely slip away in the second. It was a contest littered with miscues, sloppy plays, and turnovers on the Blue Devils' end, limiting the program from finding any sort of rhythm. Duke was outscored 31-6 in the second half after entering the halftime locker room down 14-13, falling to the Fighting Illini 45-19.
Manny Diaz said Duke "felt terrible" in the locker room after loss to No. 11 Illinois
Duke could've been in a position to win that game, but Manny Diaz and his squad just didn't come in with their best stuff. Duke's head coach highlighted the emotions and frustration his team felt after the game was over.
"We feel terrible about this," Diaz said. "It's a dejected locker room because I think they feel like it's a missed opportunity. But this happened for a reason, and we have to learn from it, and it's part of our development as a program."
After coming into the 2025 campaign as a dark horse contender in the ACC, falling to a ranked team by 26 points on your home turf is not going to help Duke's case in terms of gaining ground as a true sleeper team. The defense was fantastic in the first half, tallying four sacks while keeping Illinois QB Luke Altmyer uncomfortable in the pocket. However, the Illini figured it out in the second, crushing Duke's secondary and moving the ball downfield with no issues.
Duke limited the Illini to -5 rushing yards in the first half, and then followed that by allowing over 100 yards on the ground across the final 30 minutes.
New Duke quarterback Darian Mensah didn't have the performance Duke fans were looking for in his first contest against an elite opponent. Mensah committed three turnovers and was unable to feel pressure from Illinois and get the ball away. Duke committed five turnovers as a team, which led to 21 Illini points.
Duke will likely have to win out to have any sort of hope in terms of a College Football Playoff appearance.