Ultimate College Football Preview, 130 Teams In A 130 Days: Duke

Welcome to the Ultimate College Football Preview for 2023. Every team in FBS Football will be covered in this daily blog release. All of your favorite teams from the ACC, AAC, Big 12, Big 10, C-USA, MAC, Mountain West, PAC 12, SEC, Sun Belt & even every Independent. Think of these daily college football previews as a cheat sheet going into next year.

2022 Recap:

The Blue Devils finished much better than experts predicted last year. They went 9-4 overall and 5-3 in Conference play. Duke ended its season with a win vs. UCF in the Military Bowl. They had a top 35 offense in points per game and a top 35 defense in points per game. They had a very balanced offense with 5 players over 500 yards rushing. This team was a big surprise and took advantage of a down ACC last year.

Head Coach:

First year head coach Mike Elko brought grit and stability to the Blue Devils last year, surprising most in college football with 9 wins. The long time successful defensive coordinator had his defense in the top 35 overall in the country in efficiency. Elko’s brand of defense mixed with Kevin Johns clever offensive play calling could have Duke as more than just a basketball school.

Chasing excellence in every arena. #LETSGODUKE @DukeMBB @DukeWBB https://t.co/pNJeRUuzAJ
— Coach Mike Elko (@CoachMikeElko) March 1, 2023

Key Players:

There is no bigger player for Duke this year than JR QB Riley Leonard. Last year he completed just shy of 64 % of his passes for almost 3000 yards. He added in 20 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. His dual threat ability will be key for the Blue Devils. Duke was a well balanced team last year running and throwing. A big key to that was the three headed monster of Waters, Coleman and Moore. Each of the running backs had over 550 yards rushing and had 18 combined touchdowns. The defense will be lead by Senior Safety Jaylen Stinson. The teams third leading tackler also had 2 interceptions and will be a huge part of the defense next year.

2023 Prediction:

The Devils have a decently tough schedule in 2023, starting game one with Clemson. They also have a tough game at home vs. Notre Dame and Northwestern, which we never know what Wildcats team we will get year to year. I would put this team between 7-9 wins with the latter being a great year 2 for Coach Elko. The momentum from last year can really help the Blue Devils going into this year and the years following.