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2023 Duke

8–⁠5 (4–⁠4 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Mike Elko, then Trooper Taylor (interim, bowl game).

Schedule and results

Duke in 2023, game by game: won vs. No. 9 Clemson 28–7; won vs. Lafayette 42–7; won vs. Northwestern 38–14; won at UConn 41–7; lost vs. No. 11 Notre Dame 14–21; won vs. NC State 24–3; lost at No. 4 Florida State 20–38; lost at No. 18 Louisville 0–23; won vs. Wake Forest 24–21; lost at No. 24 North Carolina 45–47; lost at Virginia 27–30; won vs. Pittsburgh 30–19; won vs. Troy 17–10+35−23Won 28–7 vs. No. 9 Clemson+21No. 9 ClemsonWon 42–7 vs. Lafayette+35LafayetteWon 38–14 vs. Northwestern+24NorthwesternWon 41–7 at UConn+34UConnLost 14–21 vs. No. 11 Notre Dame-7No. 11 Notre DameWon 24–3 vs. NC State+21NC StateLost 20–38 at No. 4 Florida State-18No. 4 Florida StateLost 0–23 at No. 18 Louisville-23No. 18 LouisvilleWon 24–21 vs. Wake Forest+3Wake ForestLost 45–47 at No. 24 North Carolina-2No. 24 North CarolinaLost 27–30 at Virginia-3VirginiaWon 30–19 vs. Pittsburgh+11PittsburghWon 17–10 vs. Troy+7Troy
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vs9ClemsonW 28–⁠744%
Sep 9vsLafayetteW 42–⁠790%
Sep 16vsNorthwesternW 38–⁠1481%
Sep 23atUConnW 41–⁠774%
Sep 30vs11Notre DameL 14–⁠2148%
Oct 14vsNC StateW 24–⁠362%
Oct 21at4Florida StateL 20–⁠3831%
Oct 28at18LouisvilleL 0–⁠2338%
Nov 2vsWake ForestW 24–⁠2168%
Nov 11at24North CarolinaL 45–⁠4737%
Nov 18atVirginiaL 27–⁠3068%
Nov 25vsPittsburghW 30–⁠1969%
Dec 23Bowls & playoffvsTroyBirmingham BowlW 17–⁠1029%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Troy 17–⁠10 in the Birmingham Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 23rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 108 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 2: 21
  2. Wk 3: 21
  3. Wk 4: 18
  4. Wk 5: 17
  5. Wk 6: 19
  6. Wk 7: 17
  7. Wk 8: 16
  8. Wk 9: 20
Record
8–⁠5
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 16
Points
350–⁠247
Coach
Mike Elko, then Trooper Taylor (interim, bowl game)
Elo
1603 +59 this season
SP+ rating
9.4 No. 29 of 133; offense No. 63, defense No. 25, special teams No. 18
SRS
10.1 No. 24 of 133 in FBS
Returning
99% of last season’s EPA, No. 2 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 56 roster talent No. 67 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Kevin Johns
Defensive coordinators
Tyler Santucci and Lyle Hemphill
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense66th of 133
  • Defense36th of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted49th of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted42nd of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1040%1.3066th of 133
Defense0.0543%1.1636th of 133
Opponent-adjusted0.14 off
0.07 def		42% off
43% def		—49th off
42nd def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.3own 3115% allowed
Defense3.5own 2718% caused

CORE rating 4.2, 42nd of 133 (offense 0.7, defense -3.5).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsRiley Leonard QB1,102 yds
Passing touchdownsGrayson Loftis QB8 TD
Rushing yardsJordan Waters RB819 yds
Rushing touchdownsJordan Waters RB12 TD
Receiving yardsJordan Moore WR835 yds
Receiving touchdownsJordan Moore WR8 TD
TacklesTre Freeman LB95 tkl
SacksAeneas Peebles DL5 sacks
InterceptionsJeremiah Lewis S2 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Peyton Jones RB★★★No. 810
Kevin O’Connor LB★★★No. 846
Marquise Collins RB★★★No. 874
Grayson Loftis QB★★★No. 882
Semaj Turner DL★★★No. 903

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.868
Running backs23.00.870
Receivers53.00.852
Offensive line33.00.844
Defensive line53.00.858
Linebackers33.00.860
Defensive backs53.00.861
Athletes and specialists23.00.847
Whole class263.00.856

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2024

The 2024 draft
Rd 1Graham Barton CTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 3DeWayne Carter DTBuffalo Bills
Rd 5Jacob Monk CGreen Bay Packers

Roster 109

The 2023 roster

109 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 63 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 6

The 2023 portal
Jake Hornibrook OT★★★from Stanford
Myles Jones CB★★★from Texas A&M
Al Blades Jr. CB★★★from Miami
Ben Hoitink OL★★★from Pennsylvania
Scott Elliott OT★★★from Harvard
Jacob Long OL★★★from Angelo State

Transfers out 16

Dustyn Hall OL★★★to East Carolina
Matt Smith TE★★★to Massachusetts
Darrell Harding Jr. WR★★to Buffalo
Tony Davis CB★★★★no new school on file
Addison Penn OL★★★no new school on file
Ahmad Craig DL★★★no new school on file
Caleb Oppan DE★★★no new school on file
Christian Rorie DL★★★to Texas State
Elijah Wroten OL★★★no new school on file
Eric Weatherly WR★★★to Bucknell
Rocky Shelton II LB★★★no new school on file
Ron Carr OT★★★to Illinois State

And 4 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2023 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Florida State8–⁠013–⁠16
Louisville7–⁠110–⁠419
NC State6–⁠29–⁠421
Georgia Tech5–⁠37–⁠6
Virginia Tech5–⁠37–⁠6
Clemson4–⁠49–⁠420
North Carolina4–⁠48–⁠5
Duke4–⁠48–⁠5
Miami3–⁠57–⁠6
Boston College3–⁠57–⁠6
Syracuse2–⁠66–⁠7
Pittsburgh2–⁠63–⁠9
Virginia2–⁠63–⁠9
Wake Forest1–⁠74–⁠8

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.