Illinois football AT Duke Blue Devils – Saturday, September 6, 11:00 a.m. CT/12:00 p.m. ET
A week after Illinois gets a cakewalk of a program in Western Illinois, we head to North Carolina to take on the pesky Duke Blue Devils.
This isn’t your father’s Duke program. They are actually a solid football unit. Manny Diaz is a good coach, and last season, the Blue Devils finished 9-4 overall.
That solid season for Duke was led by quarterback Maalik Murphy. He threw for 2,933 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. Murphy is no longer with the Blue Devils, as he was called to Oregon State to lead the Beavers in 2025.
In steps Darian Mensah from Tulane. This kid was a freshman sensation last season, throwing for 2,723 yards, 22 touchdowns, and just six interceptions for the Green Wave. He was able to give a few ranked teams a scare last season as well.
The biggest worry I have for Illinois’ defense is the fact that there isn’t much on Mensah in the Duke offense. It is a bit of an unknown what he will bring the Blue Devils, so that is concerning.
With it being so early in the season, I think Illinois’ defense will be able to cause some problems for Mensah. He will still be getting the flow of the offense, so the Illini could force a few turnovers.
Luke Altmyer should be able to do some work offensively for the Illini. Duke does return some nice pieces, but they are missing two key pass rushers from last season. The Blue Devils allowed 222.1 yards per game through the air, which ranked No. 65 in the country, too.
I expect Altmyer to use his experience, especially with his wide receiver corps, to tear Duke apart. Look for this game to be close throughout the first half, but then Illinois takes over in the third quarter.
Final score: Illinois 28 – Duke 10