CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2025 Duke

9–⁠5 (6–⁠2 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Manny Diaz.

Schedule and results

Duke in 2025, game by game: won vs. Elon 45–17; lost vs. No. 11 Illinois 19–45; lost at Tulane 27–34; won vs. NC State 45–33; won at Syracuse 38–3; won at California 45–21; lost vs. No. 12 Georgia Tech 18–27; won at Clemson 46–45; lost at UConn 34–37; lost vs. No. 20 Virginia 17–34; won at North Carolina 32–25; won vs. Wake Forest 49–32; won vs. No. 16 Virginia 27–20; won vs. Arizona State 42–39+35−26Won 45–17 vs. Elon+28ElonLost 19–45 vs. No. 11 Illinois-26No. 11 IllinoisLost 27–34 at Tulane-7TulaneWon 45–33 vs. NC State+12NC StateWon 38–3 at Syracuse+35SyracuseWon 45–21 at California+24CaliforniaLost 18–27 vs. No. 12 Georgia Tech-9No. 12 Georgia TechWon 46–45 at Clemson+1ClemsonLost 34–37 at UConn-3UConnLost 17–34 vs. No. 20 Virginia-17No. 20 VirginiaWon 32–25 at North Carolina+7North CarolinaWon 49–32 vs. Wake Forest+17Wake ForestWon 27–20 vs. No. 16 Virginia+7No. 16 VirginiaWon 42–39 vs. Arizona State+3Arizona State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 28vsElonW 45–⁠1784%
Sep 6vs11IllinoisL 19–⁠4557%
Sep 13atTulaneL 27–⁠3435%
Sep 20vsNC StateW 45–⁠3354%
Sep 27atSyracuseW 38–⁠335%
Oct 4atCaliforniaW 45–⁠2150%
Oct 18vs12Georgia TechL 18–⁠2762%
Nov 1atClemsonW 46–⁠4544%
Nov 8atUConnL 34–⁠3750%
Nov 15vs20VirginiaL 17–⁠3463%
Nov 22atNorth CarolinaW 32–⁠2556%
Nov 29vsWake ForestW 49–⁠3263%
Dec 6vs16VirginiaACC ChampionshipW 27–⁠2049%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsArizona StateSun BowlW 42–⁠3952%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Arizona State 42–⁠39 in the Sun Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; Atlantic Coast Conference champions.

In program history: The 17th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 108 on file).

Atlantic Coast Conference champions6–⁠2 in the conference

Record
9–⁠5
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
484–⁠412
Coach
Manny Diaz
Elo
1632 +61 this season
SP+ rating
6.6 No. 44 of 136; offense No. 19, defense No. 86, special teams No. 33
SRS
5.2 No. 48 of 136 in FBS
Returning
18% of last season’s EPA, No. 104 of 134
Recruiting class
No. 30 roster talent No. 58 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Jonathan Brewer
Defensive coordinator
Jonathan Patke
Captains
Aaron Hall, Darian Mensah, Justin Pickett and Wesley Williams
Offense
Spread
Defense
Multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense26th of 136
  • Defense85th of 136
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted28th of 136
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted84th of 136
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1845%1.3326th of 136
Defense0.1444%1.3285th of 136
Opponent-adjusted0.17 off
0.12 def		46% off
44% def		—28th off
84th def

Passing and running

Pass successDepth of targetDeep throwsLine yardsStuffed
Offense49%7.7 yds15%3.0019%
Defense49%7.2 yds11%2.7021%
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. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.3own 3115% allowed
Defense4.4own 2817% caused

CORE rating 2.0, 56th of 136 (offense 8.1, defense 6.1).

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 yardsDarian Mensah QB3,973 yds
Passing touchdownsDarian Mensah QB34 TD
Rushing yardsNate Sheppard RB1,132 yds
Rushing touchdownsAnderson Castle RB12 TD
Receiving yardsCooper Barkate WR1,106 yds
Receiving touchdownsCooper Barkate WR7 TD
TacklesLuke Mergott LB91 tkl
SacksVincent Anthony DE7 sacks
InterceptionsCaleb Weaver S2 INT

Top recruits in the 2025 class

Bryce Davis DE★★★★No. 73
Bradley Gompers ATH★★★★No. 189
Nate Sheppard RB★★★★No. 439
Bariate Kara DL★★★★No. 470
Jaivon Solomon WR★★★No. 518

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

The 2025 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.874
Running backs14.00.892
Receivers23.00.882
Offensive line73.00.852
Defensive line53.40.896
Linebackers23.00.866
Defensive backs63.00.862
Athletes and specialists43.30.865
Whole class283.10.869

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 2026

The 2026 draft
Rd 4Wesley Williams DEJacksonville Jaguars
Rd 5Chandler Rivers CBBaltimore Ravens
Rd 6Brian Parker II CCincinnati Bengals

Roster 103

The 2025 roster

103 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2025 line; 55 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 9

The 2025 portal
Darian Mensah QB★★★★from Tulane
Andrel Anthony Jr. WR★★★from Oklahoma
Caleb Weaver S★★★from Sam Houston
Cooper Barkate WR★★★from Harvard
Anderson Castle RB★★★from App State
Jaiden Francois CB★★★from Utah State
Jordan Larsen OL★★★from South Dakota
Josiah Green DL★★★from Dartmouth
Landen King TE★★★from Utah

Transfers out 13

Maalik Murphy QB★★★★to Oregon State
Star Thomas RB★★★to Tennessee
Grayson Loftis QB★★★to Charlotte
James Pogorelc OT★★★to James Madison
Al Wooten II RB★★★to Towson
Placide Djungu-Sungu S★★★to Baylor
Marquise Collins RB★★★to UAB
Zachary Franks OL★★★to Massachusetts
Carter Wyatt LB★★★no new school on file
Quran Boyd RB★★★no new school on file
Spencer Jones WR★★★no new school on file
Rent Montie QB★★no new school on file

And 1 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2025 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Virginia7–⁠211–⁠316
Miami6–⁠213–⁠32
SMU6–⁠29–⁠4
Georgia Tech6–⁠29–⁠4
Duke6–⁠29–⁠5
Pittsburgh6–⁠28–⁠5
NC State5–⁠48–⁠5
Louisville4–⁠49–⁠4
Wake Forest4–⁠49–⁠4
Clemson4–⁠47–⁠6
California4–⁠47–⁠6
Stanford3–⁠54–⁠8
Florida State2–⁠65–⁠7
North Carolina2–⁠64–⁠8
Virginia Tech2–⁠63–⁠9
Syracuse1–⁠73–⁠9
Boston College1–⁠72–⁠10

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