Duke students and the football fans of Durham must be getting used to celebrations by now.
The Blue Devils beat the Florida State Seminoles on Friday night, a 23-16 triumph for the first win over FSU in school history. Head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] pointed out after the game that, since 2022, the Blue Devils have only lost twice in their home stadium.
“Wallace Wade is a hard place for an opposing team to come win,” Diaz said. “That’s just what the facts say, and our players, they believe that. They feel great playing at home.”
Diaz has won each of his first four home games as part of his 6-1 start, defeating Elon and Connecticut in non-conference play before the 20-point comeback over the North Carolina Tar Heels in Week 5. Under the previous head coach, Mike Elko, the Blue Devils went 5-1 at home in 2022 and 6-1 in 2023, only losing to the Tar Heels and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
It all adds up to a 15-2 record in Durham over the past three seasons, including last year’s season-opening upset of the Clemson Tigers.
Duke puts that sterling home record to the test next weekend against the ranked SMU Mustangs. That Week 9 battle is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. on Saturday.