Let's take a look at 2024 Duke football.
Best / Worst Case Record for :
Louisville | Virginia | Miami | Georgia Tech | SMU | Boston College | Pittsburgh | Florida State | Virginia Tech | Cal | NC State | Clemson | Syracuse | North Carolina | Stanford| Wake Forest
Duke
The last couple of years were pretty solid for Duke football under Mike Elko. Elko brought Duke back to respectability following the struggles at the end of the David Cutcliffe era. Elko went 9-4 in 2022, and 7-5 in 2023. The 2023 Duke team won their bowl game to go 8-5. Unsurprisingly Elko was going to be sought after being so successful at Duke. He left for Texas A&M, and Duke after winning 17 games the last 2 years, is going to have to start over under Manny Diaz. Diaz was OK at Miami, but not great going 21-15. He comes to Duke by the way of DC at Penn State. He has experience, and some relative success, but following Elko will be tough. Duke doesn’t appear to be especially talented on the surface, and you have to wonder if the Blue Devils program can maintain what we saw the last 2 years.
Will Go 7-5 (3-5) if:
Duke starts the season fast. Duke has games with Elon, at Northwestern, Connecticut, at Middle Tennessee. Northwestern is decent, but Duke beat the 38-14 last year. If you give Duke a 4-0 start then they’ve got a shot to finish over .500. I’m not sure they are equipped to take on a brutal finishing schedule. I can’t see more than a 3-5 finish with UNC, at Georgia Tech, FSU, SMU, at Miami, at NC State, Virginia Tech, and at Wake Forest. QB Texas transfer Maalik Murphy is the expected starter and gives Duke hope that the passing offense will be improved over last year. He’s a physically gifted player, who just needs experience. The defense has to remain the quality unit that it was under Elko. If that happens Duke can make a bowl game.
Will Go 3-9 (2-6) if:
The transition to Manny Diaz goes poorly. Elko was hailed as one of the better coaches in the ACC while he was there. The season could go off the rails early if Duke were to lose at Northwestern, maybe gets upset at Middle Tennesse – then where are enough wins going to come from the rest of the year to make a bowl? An offense that was 94th last year only returns a handful of starters. The defense also isn’t returning much. Duke is going to need some breaks not have a losing season.
