Tag: Chandler Rivers

Duke football among Power 4 teams with least returning production, ESPN calculates

ESPN’s Bill Connelly ranked all 134 FBS college football teams by returning production from 2023, and the Duke Blue Devils came in well below the median.

No one in Durham needs to be told the 2024 football team with first-year head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] will look different from 2023, but just how different could be a surprise.

ESPN’s Bill Connelly shared a ranking of the 134 FBS college football teams by what percentage of their 2023 production returns for the 2024 season. The Blue Devils finished 91st with just 56% of its 2023 work still in town.

The most notable departures, head coach Mike Elko to Texas A&M and quarterback Riley Leonard to Notre Dame, take the headlines. However, the Blue Devils also lost multiple starting offensive linemen and First Team All-ACC defensive tackle DeWayne Carter to the NFL draft. A handful of other defensive linemen also left the school, with edge rusher RJ Oben joining Leonard on the Fighting Irish and tackle Ja’Mion Franklin signing with his hometown NFL team.

However, a few 2024 stars stayed in the building. Wide receiver Jordan Moore, who finished with a team-high 835 yards, made an impressive touchdown catch during the spring game over star corner Chandler Rivers. Running back Jaquez Moore, whose 674 rushing yards in 2023 were the second-most on the team, will lead the backfield once again.

Duke’s 2024 season gets underway on August 30 against Elon.

Duke defense prevails in Blue & White Game

The spring headlines for Duke football centered around as the quarterback battle, but the Blue Devils defense showed it’s still the heart of the team on Saturday.

All of the attention for Duke football centered around the quarterbacks this spring, from new transfer Maalik Murphy to returners Grayson Loftis and Henry Belin IV.

However, during the Blue & White Game on Saturday, the Blue Devils defense proved it won’t go away in the 2024 season with a 24-16 win over the offense.

Last year under former head coach Mike Elko, Duke surrendered just 19.0 points per game, the best mark in the ACC. Elko left for Texas A&M this winter, but former Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz took his place and the defense looks like it won’t lose a step under his eye.

Murphy and Loftis split time under center, and while the stats won’t reflect anything due to the informal nature of the scrimmage, Murphy did toss the only touchdown of the game to star wideout Jordan Moore.

However, the defense won almost every other series. Junior defensive back Chandler Rivers fought with Moore for that touchdown catch, nearly wrestling it away for an interception. True freshman Vontae Floyd, a Virginia native, did intercept Loftis for the game’s lone turnover later in the second half.

Duke’s football season gets underway on August 30 against Elon.

WATCH: Maalik Murphy throws first touchdown in Duke uniform to Jordan Moore

Maalik Murphy, who transferred from Texas this winter, notched his first touchdown at Wallace Wade Stadium with a long heave to star receiver Jordan Moore.

Duke fans got their first looks at the Blue Devils 2024 football team on Saturday afternoon during the spring Blue & White Game.

For most fans, the biggest headlines revolved around new quarterback Maalik Murphy, who transferred from Texas over the winter. Murphy got his chances to lead the Duke offense during game scenarios, and the redshirt sophomore showed off his dizzying arm talent over and over again.

It took until the second half of Saturday’s scrimmage for Murphy to toss his first touchdown in Duke colors, but he threw it to the most expected target.

With a little more than eight minutes left on the clock, the new Blue Devils signal-caller turned toward the right sideline and launched an arching pass toward star receiver Jordan Moore. Moore, blanketed by top corner Chandler Rivers, made an eye-popping contested catch for the first trip to the end zone.

Rivers made Moore work for it, wrestling with him for the ball on the ground for nearly a minute, but the touchdown stood. The score pulled the Duke offense within four points of the defense, who still led 17-13 after the touchdown.

Projecting the five highest-rated Blue Devils in EA Sports’ College Football 25

With EA Sports College Football 25 on the horizon, here’s our ranking of who we think will be the five highest-rated Duke players in the game.

EA Sports has officially done it. They have successfully built the momentum for the latest installment in their beloved college football video game series. It’s been a long wait, but with the teaser trailer they dropped earlier in February and the confirmation early this week that every FBS team had opted in for the video game, it’s finally starting to feel real. The official reveal of the game will come in May.

According to ESPN, Thursday was also the first day that college football players could begin opting to participate in the video game. The report said players would receive $600 and a free game copy.With the momentum of this game hitting a fever pitch and the fact that we are getting closer to release, we decided to look at how Duke may look when the game is released.Without further ado, here’s a look at who we think will be the five highest-rated Blue Devils in the new game when it releases this summer.

Duke statistical leaders through four games

Does anyone on this list worry you?

There are few programs college football fans are buying more stock in right now than Duke. Maybe the only program that has turned more heads is the Deion Sanders-led Colorado. ESPN decided that there’s enough interest in the Blue Devils that the next episode of “College GameDay” will be broadcast from Durham. For once, people on Duke’s campus are excited and not about men’s basketball.

It is there that Notre Dame will play this weekend coming off the toughest of losses to Ohio State. The Irish will be facing a team trying to prove it’s for real and belongs with the best of college football. Plus, a raucous crowd at Wallace Wade Stadium likely will be waiting for them. Only they will be able to put a damper on the celebratory mood.

Here are the players who have gotten it done for the Blue Devils so far and will look to continue to do so against the Irish: