Duke football – Syndication Server

ACC reveals the 2025 Duke football schedule, including a Tulane rematch for Darian Mensah

The 2025 Duke football schedule is officially set, including an early-season match between new quarterback Darian Mensah and his old school.

The Duke Blue Devils, along with every other member of the ACC, officially revealed their 2025 college football schedule on Monday evening, and new quarterback [autotag]Darian Mensah[/autotag] will see a familiar foe in the non-conference leadup.

Duke opens the second campaign of the [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] era with an August 30 game against Elon, exactly one year to the day after the 2024 opener against that same Phoenix team. The Blue Devils won 26-3 in Diaz’s first game thanks to a pair of [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] touchdown passses.

The Blue Devils play another Big Ten team in Week 2, this time hosting the Illinois Fighting Illini, before traveling for their first road game on September 13. The team? The Tulane Green Wave, Mensah’s former program. The new Duke quarterback announced his decision to transfer after leading Tulane to nine wins and an American Athletic Conference Championship appearance as a redshirt freshman.

Duke’s first ACC game comes against the NC State Wolfpack in Durham on September 20, and it closes the season with back-to-back rivalry battles against the North Carolina Tar Heels (Nov. 22) and Wake Forest Demon Deacons (Nov. 29).

Check out the full schedule below:

2025 Duke football schedule

Aug. 30: vs Elon Phoenix
Sept. 6: vs Illinois Fighting Illini
Sept. 13: at Tulane Green Wave
Sept. 20: vs NC State Wolfpack
Sept. 27: at Syracuse Orange
Oct. 4: at California Golden Bears
Oct. 18: vs Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Nov. 1: at Clemson Tigers
Nov. 8: at Connecticut Huskies
Nov. 15: vs Virginia Cavaliers
Nov. 22: at North Carolina Tar Heels
Nov. 29: vs Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Duke football alum Noah Gray clinches third Super Bowl trip with the Kansas City Chiefs

Former Duke tight end Noah Gray is headed to a third straight Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Former Duke tight end [autotag]Noah Gray[/autotag] and the Kansas City Chiefs are headed back to the Super Bowl for the third consecutive season.

Gray, alongside superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes and fellow tight end Travis Kelce, defeated the Buffalo Bills 32-29 in Sunday’s AFC Championship game. While the former Blue Devil did not catch a pass in the contest, he hauled in three for 13 yards in the Divisional Round against the Houston Texans.

Gray and the Chiefs have won each of the past two Super Bowl titles. With a win over the Philadelphia Eagles next month, Kansas City would become the first time in NFL history to win three straight Super Bowl titles.

Gray spent four years in Durham from 2017-20 before the Chiefs took him in the fifth round, and he’s reached the AFC title match in all four professional seasons. He’s in the midst of a career year, catching 40 passes for 437 yards and five touchdowns to reset all of his personal bests. He’s hauled in 13 passes for 130 yards in the playoffs since 2021.

Duke football will host the NC State Wolfpack in 2025 conference opener

The ACC revealed each team’s conference opener for the 2025 college football season with Duke is set to host an in-state rival.

The 2024 college football season just ended earlier this month, but even if the 2025 season feels far away, it’s never too early to look for scheduling announcements.

While the full ACC slate won’t be unveiled until Monday, the conference went ahead and shared each team’s first league opponent on Friday.

Blue Devils fans will welcome the NC State Wolfpack to Wallace Wade Stadium in Week 4, the game scheduled for September 20.

Duke won nine games for the fourth time since 1941 this past season, its first under head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag], and the Blue Devils beat NC State in a November showdown in Raleigh. The 29-19 victory helped Duke sweep its three in-state rivals for the first time since 2013.

Duke has won four of its last five games against the Wolfpack overall, and NC State hasn’t won in Durham since 2008.

The home game will also be one of the first looks at former Tulane quarterback Darian Mensah, who announced his decision to transfer to Duke in December. One of the highest-rated players in the portal, Mensah threw for 2,723 yards and 22 touchdowns with just six interceptions with the Green Wave as a redshirt sophomore.

Duke football earns an ‘A-‘ grade from USA TODAY Sports after nine-win season

The Duke Blue Devils far exceeded expectations on the football field in 2024, earning a favorite grade from USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday.

The Duke Blue Devils didn’t end the 2024 football season on the highest of notes, but head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] and his program still far surpassed the preseason expectations in year one.

Duke finished with nine wins and a 5-3 conference record thanks to multiple double-digit comebacks, notably at home against the North Carolina Tar Heels and on the road against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. It all added up to an ‘A-‘ grade from USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg in his annual report card handed out on Wednesday.

Only 17 teams out of the 134 FBS programs earned a higher grade than the Blue Devils, and the SMU Mustangs (A+) and Syracuse Orange (A) were the only ACC schools higher on the grading scale.

Duke ended the year with a 52-20 loss to Ole Miss in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, but it played that game without starting quarterback [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag]. Murphy, who sat out ahead of his transfer to Oregon State, set a school record with 26 passing touchdowns in his first year with the team.

Before 2024, the Blue Devils had only won nine games in a single season three times since 1941, and Duke swept UNC, Wake Forest, and NC State for the first time since 2013.

Duke football receives no votes in final US LBM Coaches Poll after bowl loss

Despite nine regular-season wins, the Duke football team didn’t garner a single vote in the final US LBM Coaches Poll.

The Duke football team won nine games for the fourth time since 1941 this season, winning five of its eight conference games and sweeping its three in-state rivals, but head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] and the Blue Devils won’t get a single vote in the final US LBM Coaches Poll.

USA TODAY Sports released its final college football ranking of the season on Tuesday, the morning after the Ohio State Buckeyes took down the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (and former Duke quarterback [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag]) in the national title game. While the Blue Devils danced around the No. 25 spot over the final month of the season, they weren’t anywhere to be found on the final ballots.

The absence makes sense when Duke’s final appearance, a 52-20 loss to Ole Miss in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, gets factored in, although the Blue Devils didn’t have starting quarterback [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag]. Only three teams with fewer than 10 victories made the top 25.

Four ACC teams ended up in the postseason coaches poll. The SMU Mustangs (No. 11) and the Clemson Tigers (No. 12) stayed in the top dozen despite convincing College Football Playoff losses, and the Miami Hurricanes dropped two spots to No. 18. The Syracuse Orange climbed up three spots to No. 22.

Duke football drops from the top 25 of USA TODAY Sports re-rank after bowl loss

Check out where the Duke Blue Devils ended up in the final USA TODAY Sports college football re-rank released on Tuesday.

With the Ohio State Buckeyes defeating former Duke quarterback [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Monday night, the 2024 college football season has officially drawn to a close.

First-year Blue Devils coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] put together a remarkably successful campaign, winning nine regular-season games and sweeping his three in-state rivals for one of the best seasons in school history. After this month’s 52-20 loss to Ole Miss in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, however, the team from Durham took a tumble in the USA TODAY Sports re-rank on Tuesday.

Duke dropped seven spots to No. 30 in Paul Myerberg’s final ranking of all 134 FBS teams. The Blue Devils slipped below the Syracuse Orange (up one spot to 23rd) and the Louisville Cardinals (who held still at No. 28), but Diaz’s team still finished sixth among ACC teams on Myerberg’s board.

In an unexpected twist from the start of the season, no SEC teams ended up in the top four. Ohio State and the Irish took first and second, naturally, with the Oregon Ducks and Penn State Nittany Lions in third and fourth.

None of the three other ACC teams from North Carolina finished with a winning record after NC State and the North Carolina Tar Heels lost their bowl battles. The Wolfpack finished 77th on Myerberg’s board and the Tar Heels came in two spots behind them at 79th, and the 4-8 Wake Forest Demon Deacons came in 97th.

Duke wide receiver Jordan Moore officially declares for 2025 NFL Draft

Duke star wide receiver Jordan Moore officially threw his name into the 2025 NFL draft pool this weekend.

The college football season is almost over, with the national championship taking place Monday night, and Duke played its final game of the campaign nearly three weeks ago to this point.

The first point of offseason action is the 2025 NFL draft, and with the declaration deadline approaching fast, the Blue Devils are losing their top receiver. [autotag]Jordan Moore[/autotag] announced his intentions to enter the draft on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday.

“To Duke University, what a wild ride it’s been these last four years!” Moore wrote. “The memories and life-long friendships are indelibly printed on my heart.”

He thanked first-year coach Manny Diaz as well as David Cutcliffe and Mike Elko, each of the three staffs he played under in Durham.

Moore, a quarterback prospect who switched to wideout ahead of the 2022 season, played in all 39 of Duke’s games over the last three years. He caught 177 passes for 2,352 yards and 21 touchdowns, including a team-leading 861 yards this season.

Former Duke running back Star Thomas commits to recent College Football Playoff program

Former Duke running back Star Thomas announced his transfer destination on Sunday, an SEC team that made this year’s playoff bracket.

Former Duke running back [autotag]Star Thomas[/autotag] committed to the Tennessee Volunteers through the transfer portal, he announced through social media on Sunday.

Thomas, a former New Mexico State back, only spent one season with the Blue Devils. He finished 11th in the ACC with 871 rushing yards, averaging 4.1 yards per carry and finding the end zone seven times. He added 153 more yards and another score on 20 receptions as Duke won nine regular-season games.

Thomas’s best game in Durham came back in Week 5 in a 20-point comeback against the North Carolina Tar Heels. With esteemed NFL prospect Omarion Hampton in the opposite backfield, Thomas rumbled around for 211 total yards and two touchdowns on 32 touches. It was his third consecutive 100-yard rushing game, and he was named ACC Running Back of the Week for the effort.

The Volunteers won 10 games during their regular season, beating the Alabama Crimson Tide back in October to cement a College Football Playoff resume. Tennessee drew the No. 9 seed in the bracket, but that unfortunately sent them to Columbus for a road game against the Ohio State Buckeyes. OSU bullied the Volunteers for a 42-17 victory en route to a national title game appearance.

Tennessee ran for 225.9 yards per game in 2024, ninth among FBS programs, and third-year back Dylan Sampson led the conference with 22 touchdowns on the ground.

Could Bill Belichick potentially never coach a game for the North Carolina Tar Heels?

The North Carolina Tar Heels made quite a splash with head coach Bill Belichick, but they reportedly already need to fend off NFL suitors.

As of early January, there’s a non-zero chance the North Carolina Tar Heels need to hire two new football coaches in the same offseason.

The Tar Heels landed former New England Patriots head coach and six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick to replace Mack Brown, but NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported on Wednesday that multiple professional teams tested the waters with Belichick as head coaching vacancies start to open.

Former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, now a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, reportedly reached out to his old coach after the team fired Antonio Pierce.

“Sources say Brady believes the situation in Las Vegas requires a coach of Belichick’s expertise and stature to establish a sustainable winning program,” Pelissero wrote.

In one of the most notable features of Belichick’s UNC contract, his buyout dips from $10 million to $1 million after June 1. Some experts weighed whether that left a door open for his potential path back to the league this summer.

The Athletic’s Diana Russini reported later on Wednesday that Belichick does not plan to forgo Chapel Hill for an NFL job, but the Tar Heels will certainly spend a few weeks in the rumor cycle even still.

Duke wide receiver Eli Pancol officially declares for the 2025 NFL draft

After six years with the Duke Blue Devils, wide receiver Eli Pancol declared for the 2025 NFL draft on Friday night.

Duke wide receiver [autotag]Eli Pancol[/autotag] began the next step of his football career on Friday when he officially declared for the 2025 NFL draft.

Pancol thanked the Duke coaching staff, teammates, and fans as well as his family in a social media statement.

“I am a reflection of the unconditional love you have given me,” Pancol wrote.

Pancol spent six seasons with the Blue Devils, but he missed the last four games of the 2022 regular season and the entire 2023 campaign with two separate ankle injuries. He got a chance to finish his collegiate career in style this year, earning the Brian Piccolo Award from the ACC after he caught 60 passes for 798 yards and nine touchdowns.

Pancol caught four touchdowns in the team’s first three games, but his best performance came in his final home game against Virginia Tech. He reeled in an 86-yard touchdown and a 77-yard touchdown on Duke’s first two possessions, ending up with 188 yards and a trio of scores on five receptions.

He finished his Duke career with 130 catches, 1,710 receiving yards, and 14 touchdowns.

“I will always be a Duke Blue Devil,” Pancol concluded. “Nothing could have kept me from my second home.”