Three Duke football players make Pro Football Focus ACC Team of the Week

After Duke’s double-overtime win over Northwestern in Week 2, three Blue Devils made Pro Football Focus’s ACC Team of the Week.

Pro Football Focus revealed its Atlantic Coast Conference Team of the Week earlier this week and included three Blue Devils.

Duke defeated Northwestern in overtime in Week 2, kicking a field goal in the final minute of regulation before scoring touchdowns on both overtime drives for the 26-20 triumph. According to the popular football analytics site, two members of the defense and an offensive lineman deserved All-ACC honors for the week.

Defensive tackle Aaron Hall, safety Terry Moore, and left guard Caleb Krings all made the PFF ACC Team of the Week.

Moore stood out over and over again on tape, coming away with the secondary’s first interception of the year and coming inches away from at least two more turnovers. His first-quarter pick set up Duke’s only touchdown drive in regulation, an essential part of a game that needed more than four quarters to decide a victor.

Hall, one of four team captains, finished with two tackles and played an essential role in Duke’s run defense. Outside of a 44-yard explosion on Northwestern’s first drive, the Wildcats finished with 88 yards on 37 carries, an average of 2.4 yards per attempt.

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Krings, who transferred from Elon this offseason, teamed with the offensive line to only surrender two sacks for the game.

Duke football will rotate the defensive line a lot in September, head coach Manny Diaz says

Duke’s defensive line, especially along the inside, will rotate more than a half-dozen guys in and out for the first month of the season.

The Duke football team announced its 2024 starters on Monday, complete with four defensive linemen. However, just because Wesley Williams, Aaron Hall, Kendy Charles, and Vincent Anthony Jr. won the four top lines doesn’t mean they’ll take every snap.

First-year head coach Manny Diaz has preached depth all offseason, saying his defense is built around subbing players in and out. During his first Monday press conference of the year, Diaz brought up that depth yet again, this time specifically at defensive tackle. While Hall and Charles have received most of the work, the Blue Devils coach said more than a half-dozen players could see the field over the first few games.

“The good news is that all the guys we have at that spot have all improved,” Diaz said. “They’ve all gotten better, and they all deserve the right to play…That’s kind of an M.O. of this defense anyway, you’ll see a lot of people up front playing, and I suspect you would see a lot of that throughout the month of September.”

Diaz rattled off names like senior Christian Rorie, redshirt freshmen Desmond Aladuge and David Anderson, and even true freshman Preston Watson as potential depth pieces. Watson was listed as Charles’ backup on the initial depth chart.

While the general bucket of names isn’t questioned, the hierarchy among the backups remains a little fuzzy to Diaz. He pointed out that, because Duke couldn’t field full offensive lines in the spring, the unit got a late start on full-throttle reps. Not that it gives him any more time to debate.

“We called the 12 opponents we played, it turns out none of them care,” Diaz joked. “They want us to play anyway, and so we’ll still bring those guys and line them up against Elon.”

Duke football names 2024 captains led by Maalik Murphy and Jordan Moore

Duke football named its four captains for the 2024 season on Friday, including new quarterback Maalik Murphy and star wideout Jordan Moore.

Duke football announced its four 2024 captains on Friday, led by new quarterback [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] and star wide receiver [autotag]Jordan Moore[/autotag].

Murphy, who spent the past two seasons with Texas before transferring to the Blue Devils this winter, recently beat out returning sophomore Grayson Loftis for the starting job. He started two games for the Longhorns last season, throwing for 477 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions in the two victories.

Moore, who received some votes for ACC Preseason Player of the Year, led the Blue Devils in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns in 2023. Two years after he transitioned from quarterback to wideout, he’s expected to threaten Duke’s first 1,000-yard receiving season since 2014.

Offensive guard Justin Pickett and defensive tackle Aaron Hall were also named captains. Pickett has played in 23 games over the past two seasons, including seven starts in 2023. Hall, a Durham native, played in 13 games last season and set career highs with 26 total tackles and 1.5 sacks

Duke and its captains get the 2024 season underway against Elon on August 30.

Know your foe, Duke: Which Blue Devils could give Notre Dame problems

The Irish face off against a very good Duke team

For the second weekend in a row, [autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] will face off against another ranked team in [autotag]Duke[/autotag].

We know it’s a big game, ESPN College GameDay will be in attendance, as the Irish hit the road for this contest. Not many expected the Blue Devils to be undefeated and ranked to face Notre Dame when the season started, but here were are.

Duke has been surprisingly good on defense, their most points given up this season has been 14 to, check notes, Northwestern. The Mildcats won’t have nearly the firepower that the Irish bring, but holding Clemson down in the season opener was impressive.

Here are five Blue Devils that could give Notre Dame problems on Saturday evening.