Ben Byrd 
Duke is 4-0 to start the season.
The reviews for the first four games of the Manny Diaz in Durham are overwhelmingly positive. Despite inheriting a lot of uncertainty after Mike Elko took the redeye to College Station, Coach Diaz and his staff steadied the ship, landed some guys through the portal and managed to retain a few key contributors from the 2023 team. After an uneven game against Elon, Duke ground out a nail-biter double-overtime victory on the road against Northwestern, came back home and beat what looks like a much improved UCONN team and then finished the non-conference schedule with a commanding 45-17 win on the road against Middle Tennessee.
If you’re counting, the Blue Devils are 4-0. That’s pretty darned good, right? The answer is yes. But that doesn’t mean that this team is necessarily ready to run the table in The ACC. What it does mean is that Coach Diaz and his staff have gotten this team to get a little bit better each week.
The team isn’t perfect; it still has a few flaws. The special teams (or kicking teams, as I call them), have been inconsistent through most of the season. However, we saw a lot of improvement last Saturday. Peyton Jones had a few good kick returns and the punt returns didn’t terrify anyone. In addition, Duke’s new punter, Kade Reynoldson, averaged 48 yards per punt which is exactly what you need to flip the field and put your defense in a good position to close out games.
The offense, much like the kicking teams, is a bit of a work in progress. However, the group has gotten better each week thanks in part to the play of starting quarterback Maalik Murphy. When we talk about Murphy, it’s important to remember that he is only a sophomore and he looks very much like one at times. Youth an inexperience notwithstanding, Murphy came up clutch in the fourth quarter and overtime against the Wildcats in Week Two, put up good numbers against the Huskies (28-43, 267 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT) and played a solid game against the Blue Raiders (14-21, 216 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT). While his numbers weren’t eye-popping on Saturday (about one-third of his yardage came on a 71-yarder to Nicky Dalmolin), that’s because he inherited a lot of short yardage situations and didn’t have to oversee long drive after long drive. Murphy may not be great at this point, but he’s playing solid football and making the most of each opportunity.
The same is true of the Blue Devil running game. The first two games were pretty abysmal. Given that Coach Diaz had to rebuild the unit, that wasn’t surprising. While the OL didn’t get off to a good start, that group has been much better over the last two games. Led by Star Thomas, the running backs have amassed over 100 yards in each of the last two games. While the RBs haven’t dominated the opposition yet, the group has done enough to keep Duke in the win column. It’s not perfect, but it’s been more than good enough.
Of course, no discussion about the Blue Devils would be complete without mentioning the defense. That unit is getting sacks (15), fumbles (5) and TFLs (46). This is a disruptive group that will keep the team in games as the offense continues to develop.
So, what should people expect from Duke for the rest of the season? I’d bet the Blue Devils continue to improve and will be competitive when conference play starts. I’m not ready to make predictions about which games are wins and which are losses. But I will say that if this group continues to play the way it has through the first four weeks, this could be a memorable season in Durham.
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