 Well, it finally happened. Duke Football suffered its first loss of the season, falling 28-25 on the road at Georgia Tech. And I have to ask, why can't we seem to get past Georgia Tech?!
The Blue Devils had an eight-game winning streak snapped in a game that looked like Duke might actually steal one late. The Nate Train kept rolling with 190 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, while Walker Eget threw for 259 yards and a touchdown. Duke took a 25-21 lead with just 2:40 remaining, only to watch Georgia Tech march down the field and score the winning touchdown with 54 seconds left. Duke had one final chance to tie it, but the field goal attempt went wide. Just a frustrating way to lose a football game. But hey, that's football, and it's time to move on! So where does that leave Duke in my Week 7 bowl projections? I'm keeping the Blue Devils right where I've had them for the past several weeks, heading just south to Charlotte for the Duke's Mayo Bowl! Had Duke pulled out the win in Atlanta, I was ready to move them up a tier in my bowl projections. But with the loss, I'm holding steady. Duke is now 4-1 overall and 1-1 in ACC play, and there's still plenty of football left to play. But now comes a BIG one. Carolina is coming to Wallace Wade Stadium, and it's time to send Carolina back to Hell! North Carolina comes into Durham riding high after knocking off previously undefeated Pitt. The Tar Heels will also be looking to regain the Victory Bell after Duke has won the last two meetings between these rivals. Throw the records out the window when Duke and Carolina get together. Both teams want this one, and you better believe Carolina would love nothing more than to come into Durham and take that bell back. For Duke, it's simple. Put the Georgia Tech loss in the rearview mirror, protect Wallace Wade, and KEEP THE VICTORY BELL! And I'll go ahead and say it. If Duke loses to Carolina, I'll be moving the Blue Devils down a tier in next week's bowl projections. Hopefully, we won't have to have that conversation! Meanwhile, around the ACC, Coastal Chaos... I mean ACC Chaos, is alive and well! 😂 Virginia Tech fell to Cal and the Calgorithm! I actually picked this as a loss for the Hokies in my preseason game-by-game predictions, although I thought Virginia Tech might find a way to pull it out. They didn't, and the Calgorithm strikes again! Louisville looked more like the team many expected coming into the season, taking care of Florida State 44-20. But with three losses already on the schedule, I think the window has closed on that College Football Playoff run many thought Louisville might make this season. And hello again, Wake Forest! The Demon Deacons knocked off NC State and continue to look like a team nobody in the ACC should overlook. Wake is becoming a real force in this conference. Then there's Virginia. The Cavaliers squeezed past Syracuse, and I still don't know what to make of this team! Are they a contender? Are they just finding ways to survive? Who knows?! We'll find out a whole lot more soon enough, because Duke heads to Charlottesville next Friday night after the Carolina game. That's the ACC for you. Just when you think you've figured something out, somebody throws another wrench into the standings! So for Week 7, I'm sticking with Duke in Charlotte for the Duke's Mayo Bowl. One loss isn't enough for me to move the Blue Devils down, but this Saturday's rivalry game could certainly change things. Right now, I'm not worried about December. I'm worried about Saturday afternoon at Wallace Wade Stadium. Beat Carolina. Keep the Victory Bell. Send Carolina back to Hell! Go Duke! 🔵🏈 WEEK 7 BOWL PROJECTION: Duke → Duke's Mayo Bowl, Charlotte
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 Duke Football had the weekend off, but apparently the rest of the ACC decided to give us enough chaos to talk about anyway! 😂 So after a bye week, where am I sending the Blue Devils in my latest bowl projection? I’m keeping Duke right where I had them before: the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte!
Before the bye, Duke absolutely handled William & Mary 62-7 to move to 4-0. The Blue Devils scored their most points since 1949, the Nate Train rolled past 100 rushing yards for the fifth straight game, and Duke’s defense allowed just 170 total yards. Duke has now won eight straight games dating back to last season and came out of the bye still sitting undefeated. And while Duke was resting, ACC Chaos was alive and well! How about that ending in Blacksburg?! Virginia Tech had a chance to beat Pitt with a field goal as time expired and missed it, allowing the Panthers to escape with the win and stay unbeaten. Pitt joins Duke and Miami as the only undefeated teams remaining in the conference overall. Who had those three as the ACC’s last undefeated teams at this point in the season? And hello, Wake Forest! We see you, Wake! 👀 The Deacs knocked off Louisville and then followed it up by absolutely destroying Stanford 57-3. Wake has suddenly become a team everybody in the ACC needs to pay attention to. Meanwhile, wow, how quickly things can change for Louisville. This was a team many thought could be a legitimate College Football Playoff contender, and now after back-to-back losses to NC State and Wake Forest and three losses overall, it sure feels like the curtains may have closed on those playoff hopes. Virginia is another interesting one. The Cavaliers were a team many had hanging around near the top of the ACC standings, but after getting beat down at Florida State, maybe UVA is starting to slip a little. Or maybe they bounce right back. Who knows? That’s why we play the games, and that’s why trying to predict anything in this conference in October can make you crazy! So after watching all of that happen during Duke’s bye week, I’m not changing my projection. Duke stays in Charlotte for the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in my Week 5/6 Bowl Watch. The Blue Devils are 4-0, they haven’t given me a reason to move them down, and now we’re getting ready to find out a whole lot more about this Duke team. The bye week is over. Next up: Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Keep stacking W’s, Duke! 🔵😈🏈 Week 5/6 Bowl Projection: Duke → Duke’s Mayo Bowl, Charlotte  Photo Credit: Royal Howell / The Juice Network Saturday night gave us our first look at the 2026-27 Duke Basketball teams with Countdown to Craziness inside Cameron Indoor Stadium. Yes, I know it's only October and we have a LONG way to go before March lol, but after getting our first look at this Duke team, here are five things that caught my attention.
1. This Duke Team is DEEP This was probably my biggest takeaway from the night. Watching the Blue-White scrimmage and looking at the two lineups, I kept thinking the same thing... just how deep is this Duke team? I mean, you could almost argue Duke has enough talent to put two different starting lineups on the floor that could make the NCAA Tournament. Okay, maybe I'm getting a little carried away in October lol, but you get my point. Jon Scheyer has options. A LOT of options. Caleb Foster, Cayden Boozer, Deron Rippey Jr., John Blackwell, Dame Sarr, Sebastian Wilkins, Patrick Ngongba II, Cameron Williams, Maxime Meyer, Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, Bryson Howard, Drew Scharnowski... good luck finding minutes for everybody. That might actually be one of Scheyer's biggest challenges early in the season. How do you find enough minutes for all these guys? Who plays together? Who earns more minutes as the season goes along? I guess if that's your problem, it's a pretty good problem to have. 2. Duke is BIG... Really Big You don't have to watch this Duke team very long to notice the size. Duke has five guys listed at 6-foot-10 or taller. Drew Scharnowski is 6'10", Patrick Ngongba II is 6'11", Cameron Williams is 7'0", Maxime Meyer is 7'1" and Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje is 7'2". That's a lot of size! And don't forget Sebastian Wilkins and Dame Sarr are both 6'8". There are going to be some BIG Duke lineups on the floor this season. Scheyer has so many different ways he can go with this roster, and I'm really interested to see what combinations he ends up using. Want to go big? Duke can go REALLY big. 3. Hello, Deron Rippey Jr. Deron Rippey Jr. definitely caught my attention Saturday night! We got to see some of that explosiveness with his dunk, and then he finished the scrimmage by knocking down the game-winning three to give Team White the 29-24 win. A dunk AND the game winner from three? Not a bad night at CTC! Rippey finished with seven points and three assists, but it was the explosiveness that stood out to me. He just looks like one of those guys who can make something happen. And going back to #1, Duke has a lot of guys fighting for minutes. Rippey looked like somebody who is going to make it pretty hard for Scheyer not to find some for him. 4. Let's Run! Maybe this ends up being nothing more than an October CTC observation, but I liked seeing Duke get out and run. Team White scored 13 fast-break points. Again, it's a short scrimmage in October, so I'm not putting too much into that number. But look at this roster. Duke has guards who can go, athletic wings, big guys who can move and enough depth to keep throwing fresh bodies on the floor. So why not run? I want to see what this team looks like when they get a rebound, get the ball up the floor and GO. With the athletes Duke has on this roster, that could be a lot of fun to watch. 5. Can't Forget About the Duke Women! I can't finish my CTC takeaways without giving a shoutout to Kara Lawson and the Duke women's team! They had their Blue-White scrimmage too, with Team White getting the 26-23 win. Aaliyah Crump led Team White with 10 points, while Toby Fournier had eight points and three rebounds for Team Blue. But come on... we have to talk about Toby. THE DUNK! Yep, Toby threw one down in Cameron! That was one of my favorite moments from the entire night, men's or women's. There is plenty to be excited about with the Duke women again this season too, and I loved seeing both Duke Basketball programs getting their time on Coach K Court Saturday night. CTC gives us that first little taste of Duke Basketball every year, and now I'm ready for the real thing. Let's get this season started! GO DUKE! 🔵😈  3-0! Not a bad way to start September. 🔵😈
Duke took care of business against Stanford last week with a 35-7 win at Wallace Wade. The Nate Train kept rolling, Walker Eget and the passing game continued to improve, and Duke's defense took care of business. Now William & Mary comes to Wallace Wade Saturday afternoon for a 3:30 kickoff on ACC Network Extra. Duke has a chance to take care of business and finish September 4-0. Here are my 3 Things I'm Watching Saturday. 1. When Does the Nate Train Reach the Station? 🚂 LOL! I had to go there this week. The Nate Train has been rolling through the first three games, and obviously I want to see #20 keep doing his thing Saturday. But this week I'm wondering something a little different... How many yards does Nate Sheppard rack up before the Nate Train reaches the station? If Duke gets control of this game early, I would think we'll see some of the other backs get opportunities. Until then... FEED THE NATE TRAIN! Let's see how far he gets before Duke parks the train for the afternoon. 2. Just Play Duke Football 🔵 Duke is a 43.5-point favorite. Yeah... you read that right. Forget about it. Don't worry about winning by 44. Don't worry about the point spread. Don't worry about what anybody thinks the score should be. Just play Duke Football. Come out focused, don't mess around, take care of business at Wallace Wade and finish September a perfect 4-0. That's all I want to see. 3. Keep the Passing Game Growing 🎯 We've talked about Walker Eget and the passing game every week, so why stop now? I liked what we saw against Illinois. I thought we saw some more growth against Stanford. Now let's keep building. This should be another opportunity for Eget and the receivers to continue developing that chemistry. Make the throws that are there, protect the football and keep this offense moving. The schedule is going to get tougher. Use Saturday to get better. My Prediction I'm not going to sit here and worry about whether Duke wins by 44 points. I want to see Duke come out, play clean football, keep the Nate Train rolling, let Eget and the passing game continue to grow, and hopefully get plenty of guys some playing time in the second half. It's also looking like a beautiful Saturday afternoon at Wallace Wade. Sunny, football weather and a chance to finish September undefeated. Can't ask for much more than that! Duke is -43.5 and the Over/Under is 62.5. I have Duke starting out strong and not looking back. I am also taking the UNDER. Give me Duke comfortably and a 4-0 September. DUKE 51, WILLIAM & MARY 3 Let's finish September 4-0. Go Duke! 🔵😈🏈  Every fall there is a moment when it finally feels like Duke Basketball is back. The lights go down inside Cameron, the music gets louder, the Cameron Crazies are ready and then come the videos, player introductions, surprises and our first look at the newest Duke Basketball team. Countdown to Craziness has become one of my favorite Duke traditions. I've been fortunate enough to experience nearly every CTC since Duke launched the event in 2009, along with the old-school Blue-White Scrimmage in 2008. Along the way I've watched championship banners go into the rafters, seen Cameron's court transformed into a giant video screen, worn light-up Devil horns, witnessed the beginning of the Zion phenomenon, celebrated Coach K's Last Ride and watched Jon Scheyer begin a new era. I even happened to have my camera rolling for a Kyrie Irving dunk that took on a life of its own on YouTube. So before we turn the lights down in Cameron for another Countdown to Craziness, let's rewind and take a trip through some of my favorite CTC moments over the years. 🏀 2008: Before CTC Was CTC Before Countdown to Craziness, there was the Blue-White Scrimmage. Gerald Henderson, Kyle Singler, Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and company gave Duke fans an early look at the upcoming season, but one of my favorite memories from that night actually came from outside basketball. First-year Duke football coach David Cutcliffe brought his football team into Cameron, where Coach K and the basketball team greeted them. Looking back now, it is a pretty cool snapshot in Duke history and came just one year before the Blue-White Scrimmage would turn into something much bigger. 😈 2009: Countdown to Craziness Is Born In 2009, Duke decided the traditional Blue-White Scrimmage needed an upgrade and Countdown to Craziness was born. The party started outside in Krzyzewskiville with music, games and activities before moving inside Cameron for contests, videos, player introductions and basketball. The dunk contest quickly became one of the highlights of the night. It didn't take long to realize Duke had created something that was going to become a pretty fun annual tradition. 🏆 2010: Hang the Banner and Hello, Kyrie Now this was a fun one! Duke was coming off the 2010 national championship, which meant Cameron Indoor Stadium had some redecorating to do. National Championship No. 4 went into the rafters, and getting to see a championship banner raised inside Cameron is one of those Duke experiences you don't forget. Somehow that wasn't my only lasting memory from the night. Freshman Kyrie Irving threw down a dunk that sent Cameron crazy and nearly sent judge Jason Williams out of his seat. Luckily, I had my camera rolling. I uploaded the video to YouTube and watched the views keep climbing. More than 463,000 views later, I'd say people liked the dunk! 🤯 2011: Duke Basketball Never Stops Some CTC moments stick with you longer than others, and this one literally came home with me. Staff took off running from midcourt and stretched a gigantic banner across Coach K Court that read DUKE BASKETBALL NEVER STOPS. It remains one of my favorite Countdown to Craziness moments. How much did I like it? I bought a canvas wrap of the scene, and it is still hanging in my house today.  🎭 2012: What's Behind the Curtain? This was when Duke really started experimenting with how big of a production CTC could become. A massive white curtain stretched from the ceiling to the floor and was decorated with Duke players and program highlights. Then the introductions ended, the curtain dropped and out came the Blue Devils. It was a simple idea, but it was a really cool Cameron moment.  📺 2013: Coach K Court Becomes a Video Screen This one felt pretty futuristic at the time. Instead of simply putting the show on the scoreboard, Duke transformed Coach K Court itself into a giant video screen. Highlights and player introductions appeared across the hardwood. We are used to seeing projection technology at sporting events now, but seeing Duke do it inside Cameron back then was pretty awesome.   👀 2014: Wait, Where Are the Players? By this point CTC had taught us to watch the court for player introductions, so naturally Duke decided to change it up. Players started appearing from Cameron's upper-level entrances, leaving fans turning around trying to figure out where the next Blue Devil was coming from. Meanwhile, the court projection highlighted Duke's four national championship banners. Another year and another new CTC trick.  🏆 2015: DE5TINY There are CTC years and then there are banner years. After Duke's 2015 national championship run, Cameron welcomed another addition to the rafters. National Championship No. 5 was home. DE5TINY had been fulfilled. No fancy introduction was going to top seeing another championship banner hanging inside Cameron.   😈 2016: Devil Horns and THE Bottle Flip This one was just fun. Fans received glow-in-the-dark Blue Devil horns, and when the lights went down Cameron turned into a sea of glowing blue Devils. Then Chase Jeter decided he was going to steal the show. During his introduction, Jeter pulled off a perfect bottle flip and Cameron erupted. Sometimes one of your lasting Duke Basketball memories isn't a championship banner or a monster dunk. Sometimes it's a water bottle landing upright.  🎶 2017: Grayson and "Everytime We Touch" The horns returned, but this night belonged to Grayson Allen. For his senior-year introduction, Grayson came out to a song that has become part of the soundtrack of Cameron Indoor Stadium, "Everytime We Touch." You can probably imagine what happened next. Cameron went nuts. Grayson, the Crazies and that song. That's Countdown to Craziness.  🚀 2018: Welcome to the Zion Show We had heard about him. We had watched the high-school highlights. We knew the hype. Then Zion Williamson stepped onto Coach K Court. Duke brought back a four-sided center-court curtain for the introductions, but the real attraction came once the basketball started. Zion shot 7-of-11 and threw down five dunks in the scrimmage. It was our first Cameron glimpse of what was coming, and somehow, despite all the hype surrounding him, Zion spent the next several months exceeding it.  💙 2019: The Brotherhood and a Special Cameron Moment The giant curtain returned, this time celebrating The Brotherhood. Duke's past and present came together as familiar voices reminded everyone that once a Blue Devil, always a Blue Devil. The moment I remember most, though, wasn't a dunk or introduction. Tre Jones brought his mother Debbie out to the Cameron crowd. She had battled cancer earlier that year, making her appearance an emotional moment for the Jones family and the Duke community.  2020: The Year CTC Didn't Happen Then everything stopped. The COVID-19 pandemic meant there was no traditional Countdown to Craziness with a packed Cameron Indoor Stadium. After more than a decade of CTC becoming part of my fall routine, there was suddenly no trip to Cameron. It made being back the following year feel that much better. ❤️ 2021: Cameron Is Back and Coach K's Last Ride Begins After a year without fans, Cameron was alive again, and this wasn't just another Countdown to Craziness. It was the beginning of Coach K's final season. The curtain celebrated his incredible Duke career, but one of my favorite memories was much simpler. Thousands of Duke fans were back together inside Cameron singing "Everytime We Touch." After the previous year, being back inside Cameron together felt pretty darn good.  🎷 2022: New Coach, Same Craziness For the first time, Countdown to Craziness belonged to Jon Scheyer. A new era of Duke Basketball had officially begun. The curtain tied together Duke's past, present and future before Scheyer received his first CTC introduction as head coach. But Stanley Borden wasn't going to let the new coach have all the attention. Borden came out wearing a trench coat, pulled out a saxophone and started playing "Careless Whisper." Welcome to the Jon Scheyer era! Scheyer eventually closed the night by telling the Crazies, "We're in this together."    👨👩👧 2023: The One I Missed After all those years, my CTC attendance streak finally ended. I wasn't there in 2023, but fortunately my buddy and longtime Duke fan "Show" helped fill me in. Duke changed the introductions again, using four curtains positioned around the corners of the court. Show's daughter even got the chance to high-five players as they exited Cameron. I may have missed CTC, but CTC certainly didn't stop without me. ⭐ 2024: Cooper Flagg Takes Center Stage And then I missed another one. That's two straight! This time I followed along online as Duke changed the introductions again, bringing players onto Coach K Court from a baseline ramp. Stanley Borden apparently decided one musical instrument wasn't enough for his CTC career either. After the saxophone in 2022, he returned with a keyboard rendition of "Clarity." Of course, there was also a freshman named Cooper Flagg. We had heard a little bit about him. Flagg provided a preview of what was coming in a season that eventually took Duke all the way to the Final Four.  Photo via Duke Basketball 📸 2025: A Different View of Craziness After missing Countdown to Craziness in 2023 and 2024, I finally made it back to Cameron in 2025. This time, though, CTC looked a little different to me. Instead of experiencing the night from the stands as a fan, I was there working the event as media for Duke Report. That meant getting to experience Countdown to Craziness from down on the court. After all those years of looking down at Coach K Court from somewhere around Cameron, suddenly I was looking up at the scoreboard and those packed stands. Pretty cool perspective.  There was also plenty of excitement surrounding that Duke team, especially with the arrival of Cameron and Cayden Boozer. You could feel the anticipation surrounding the twins, and Cameron's introduction brought plenty of energy from the Crazies.  I've experienced Countdown to Craziness as a Duke fan for a lot of years. Getting to experience it from the floor while covering Duke Basketball gave me a completely different view of an event I've enjoyed for so long. From watching in the stands to covering it from the court, not a bad way to make my return to Countdown to Craziness! 😈 ⏳ And Now...2026 And somehow, here we are again. Another summer is behind us, another Duke team is getting ready to take the floor and Cameron Indoor Stadium is about to go CRAZY once again. That's what I've come to love about Countdown to Craziness. Yes, it's our first chance to see the newest Blue Devils, and yes, there will be introductions, videos, music and probably something Duke has cooked up that we aren't expecting. But after doing this for so many years, CTC has also become a marker of time for me. Different players, different teams and even different coaches. Championship banners have gone into the rafters. Freshmen we first saw at CTC became Duke legends and NBA stars. Coach K's era came to an end and Jon Scheyer's began. I've watched it from the stands and I've watched it from the court. Somewhere along the way, I got older too. But there is one part that hasn't changed. Every fall the lights go down in Cameron, the music starts, the Crazies get loud and you get that feeling again. DUKE BASKETBALL IS BACK! Bring on Countdown to Craziness 2026! 🔵😈🏀   Another week, another Duke win, and for the first time in a couple of weeks I’m NOT moving my bowl projection! On a Saturday when Duke fans were picking up their ACC Championship replica rings, the Blue Devils went out and handled Stanford 35-7 at Wallace Wade. The Nate Train kept rolling with 154 rushing yards and three total touchdowns, Walker Eget threw for 202 yards, and the defense held Stanford to just seven points. Duke is now 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the ACC, riding a seven-game winning streak dating back to last season.
And hey, maybe ACC can stand for the All Coast Conference now! We’ve talked plenty about what that cross-country travel can do to ACC teams. Hello, Calgorithm and those ACC After Dark games! But it can work both ways, and Stanford found that out with the trip across the country to Durham. But for my Week 4 projection, Duke isn’t going anywhere. I’m keeping them right where I had them last week, a couple hours down the road in Charlotte for the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. I’ve seen the national bowl projections, and Duke is all over the place right now. You can find the Blue Devils projected anywhere from the Pinstripe Bowl to the Military Bowl, Fenway Bowl and Duke’s Mayo Bowl. For me, I’m not moving Duke down a tier until they lose. Am I as confident as I was in the preseason that the ACC gets two teams into the College Football Playoff? Nope! If the ACC only gets one, that could create a domino effect all the way down the ACC bowl lineup. But hey, it’s only Week 4. Like I’ve said from the beginning, we’re doing these projections because they’re fun! And speaking of ACC Chaos, it’s already here. Clemson had to rally to beat UNC, Louisville picked up a big win over SMU, and there is still A LOT to figure out around this conference. Maybe UNC finds its way to a bowl in Year 2 under Belichick. Maybe the ACC finds a way to get two teams into the playoff after all. Who knows? It’s September! For now, Week 4: Duke to the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte. Unless we see a major upset Saturday, Duke has a chance to finish September at 4-0, but don’t start looking ahead. William & Mary comes to Wallace Wade this weekend. Take care of the next game, keep the Nate Train rolling, and we’ll figure out where I’m sending Duke next week. Go Duke!  Well... Duke is 2-0!
Last week I changed my preseason pick and took Duke to go into Illinois and pull out a close one. The Blue Devils did just that, coming home with a 31-27 road win. Maybe I should change my preseason picks more often LOL! Now Duke comes back home to Wallace Wade for the ACC opener against Stanford. Here are my 3 Things I'm Watching Saturday. 1. Don't Stop the Nate Train 🚂 At this point, why would we stop talking about him? Nate Sheppard has been rolling through the first two games, and I'm going right back to the Nate Train again this week. Stanford knows Duke wants to run the football. Everybody knows Duke wants to run the football. The question is whether they can stop it. Keep feeding #20 and let's see if the Nate Train keeps rolling. 🚂 2. Eget... Do It Again 🎯 Last week I wanted to see Walker Eget and the passing game take another step, and that's exactly what happened. Now I want to see him do it again. Duke shouldn't have to ask Eget to do everything Saturday, especially if the running game is working, but I want to see the passing game continue to develop. Make the throws that are there, protect the football and keep this offense moving. Nothing complicated here. Build off Illinois. 3. Avoid the Trap ⚠️ This might be the biggest thing I'm watching. Duke just went on the road and picked up a big win at Illinois. Now the Blue Devils come home as a 10.5-point favorite against Stanford. Don't celebrate Illinois for another week. Don't look ahead. Don't give Stanford a reason to believe they can steal one at Wallace Wade. Come out, take care of business and get to 3-0. And one other thing I'm looking forward to Saturday has nothing to do with what happens on the field. Fans who ordered their tickets early will be getting their ACC Championship replica rings at the game. And yes... you know I'm getting mine! 💍🔵😈 I'll definitely be looking forward to adding that one to the Duke collection. My Prediction I don't think this one will be as stressful as last Saturday... at least I hope not. Give me the Nate Train again, give me Eget and the passing game continuing to improve, and give me the Duke defense making life difficult on Stanford. FanDuel has Duke at -10.5 with the total at 51.5. I'm taking Duke to cover, and I'm taking the UNDER. I think Duke gets control of this one and doesn't give it back. DUKE 31, STANFORD 14 Let's get to 3-0. Go Duke! 🔵😈🏈  Well, we are moving! After having Duke heading north to New York for the Pinstripe Bowl in Weeks 1 and 2, my Week 3 bowl projection has the Blue Devils moving up the ACC bowl pecking order and heading a couple hours south to Charlotte for the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
Duke went into a sold-out Big Ten stadium and beat Illinois 31-27! The Nate Train kept rolling, Walker Eget and the passing game stepped up, and the Duke defense made the plays it needed to make late to get a BIG road win. Nate Sheppard finished with 147 yards rushing and three total touchdowns, while Eget threw for 206 yards and three touchdowns. Duke is now 2-0 and has a real possibility of getting through September at 4-0. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves because we all know how quickly ACC CHAOS can show up! 😂 I actually had Duke losing at Illinois in my preseason game-by-game predictions. Then last week I changed my mind lol! Something in me thought that with the Nate Train rolling, if the passing game could step up and the defense could make enough plays, Duke could go into Illinois and win. They did exactly that, and now I’m moving Duke up in my bowl projections to the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte. Side note, if you’ve followed bowl projections from me and others over the years, you probably already know a lot of Duke fans would LOVE this one. Charlotte would give so many fans in North Carolina an opportunity to attend without needing flights or planning a mini vacation around the bowl game. How confident am I? I’m not! LOL! Guys, it’s Week 3! 😂 Look around the ACC right now. Is Clemson as good as many of us thought? Is UNC going to make a bowl under Belichick? Are Virginia Tech and Virginia on a path to collide late in the season with a top-tier ACC bowl possibly on the line? And with some of the early Big Ten falters... hello Ohio State and Oregon... maybe, just maybe, the ACC can find a way to get two teams into the College Football Playoff. There is A LOT of football left, which means this whole bowl picture could look completely different a few weeks from now. For now, though, I’m going Duke to the Duke’s Mayo Bowl for my Week 3 projection. But it’s one game at a time, and next up is Stanford at Wallace Wade. So show up this Saturday, Duke fans, get loud, and let’s cheer on the Blue Devils as they try to get to 3-0! Go Duke!  Week 1 is in the books, Duke is 1-0, and now things get a little more interesting.
The Blue Devils took care of business against Tulane with a 17-3 win at Wallace Wade, and if you read my preview last week, you know the first thing I wanted to see was pretty simple: FEED THE NATE TRAIN! 🚂 Well... I think Duke got the message LOL! Nate Sheppard carried the ball 35 times for a career-high 227 yards and two touchdowns, earning Doak Walker National Running Back of the Week honors in the process. Duke's defense also held Tulane to just three points, while Walker Eget finished his Duke debut with 131 yards through the air. Now comes a much tougher test. Duke heads to Champaign Saturday afternoon to take on Illinois in a sold-out Gies Memorial Stadium. The Illini are also 1-0 after opening the season with a 42-23 win over UAB, so this should tell us a little more about both teams. 1. Keep the Nate Train Rolling 🚂 Where else would I start? After watching Sheppard run for 227 yards last week, I'm going right back to the Nate Train. I'm certainly not expecting another 227-yard performance every Saturday, but I want to see Duke establish the run again and make Illinois prove they can stop it. This is also Duke's first road game of the season, and having a running back you can lean on can make life a whole lot easier in that environment. Feed the Nate Train and let's see if it travels! 🚂 2. Eget's Next Step Last week was about getting our first look at Walker Eget as Duke's quarterback. This week, I want to see the next step. Eget finished his debut with 131 passing yards, and Duke didn't need him to light up the stat sheet. Sheppard was running wild, the defense was doing its job, and Duke found a way to win the football game. But I have a feeling Duke is going to need more from the passing game Saturday. I'm not saying Eget needs to go out there and throw for 350 yards. He doesn't. But in a close game on the road, there are probably going to be a few third downs or a couple big moments where Duke needs its quarterback to make a play. Can Eget and the passing game make enough of those plays? That's what I'm watching. 3. The Road Test This one is going to be different. We're talking about Duke's first road game of the season in a sold-out Big Ten stadium against an Illinois team that came into Wallace Wade last year and beat Duke 45-19. Yeah... I remember that one. Now Duke gets a chance to return the favor. How does Duke respond when Illinois makes a run and the crowd gets going? Can the defense slow down an Illinois offense that put up 42 points in its opener? Can Duke avoid the mistakes that can get you beat on the road? This feels like one of those games that could come down to a handful of plays in the fourth quarter. My Prediction YES, in my preseason predictions I had Duke losing this game... BUT... I'm changing it up! LOL! I've watched the line move from around 7 points to Illinois sitting at -5.5 at the moment, and maybe I'm going with my heart a little bit here... but give me the Nate Train to keep rolling on the road. Give me the Duke defense to slow Illinois down just enough, and give me Walker Eget and the passing game to make enough plays when Duke needs them. Illinois can score. Duke showed last week that it can play solid defense. I don't think this is going to be easy at all, especially walking into a sold-out Big Ten stadium, but I'm changing my preseason pick. Give me Duke in a CLOSE one on the road. I'm also taking the UNDER on the 51.5 total. DUKE 24, ILLINOIS 20 Go Duke! 🔵😈🏈  One week down, and for now I’m keeping Duke in the same spot. After a 17-3 win over Tulane to open the season, my Week 2 bowl projection still has the Blue Devils heading north to New York City for the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. Duke is 1-0, Nate Sheppard just went off for a career-high 227 yards and two touchdowns, and the Duke defense held Tulane to only three points. Not a bad way to start the season!
How confident am I in this projection? LOL! Guys, this is a piece I do for fun. If I actually knew where everybody was going this early in the season, I’d go to Vegas and beat the sportsbooks instead of sitting here trying to predict bowl games! 😂 There is A LOT of football left to be played, and that is part of the fun of doing these projections every week. Here is where it gets interesting. I could also see a team like Pittsburgh eventually ending up in the Pinstripe Bowl. In my preseason ACC bowl projections, I had two ACC teams making the College Football Playoff. One week into the season, I’m not so sure about that. The ACC might only get one team in, and if that happens, it creates a domino effect with all of these ACC bowls. But now I’m getting WAY ahead of myself lol! So for Week 2, I’m staying put. Duke to the Pinstripe Bowl. That could definitely change after Saturday with Duke heading to Champaign for its first road test of the season against Illinois. Win or lose, I may have Duke heading somewhere completely different when I check back in with my Week 3 projection. The only thing that is certain right now is that it’s early, and all Duke can control is the next game. So go beat Illinois, and we’ll worry about where the Blue Devils might be spending bowl season next week. Go Duke! 🔵🏈 |
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