Can Duke football make history against Florida State?
The Duke Blue Devils (5-1) will do battle against Florida State (1-5) in hopes to make program history on Friday night. Since the two programs started playing each other in 1992, the Seminoles have won every matchup with a record of 22-0, respectively. Now, however, the Blue Devils have the perfect opportunity to win its first ever matchup against the 2023 ACC champions as the Seminoles have had an horrfic season thus far.
The Blue Devils entered the 2024 season with a new head coach, new starting quarterback, and a new halfback. In 2023, current Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko was at the helm. Under Elko, the Blue Devils went 16-9 under his leadership which also included an ACC Coach of the Year honor in 2022, respectively. Moreover, his successor ended up being former Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz, who also used to be the head coach of the Miami Hurricanes ('19-'21).
Current Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard was under center for the Blue Devils in 2023. Leonard had a strong 2022 campaign and his stock continued to rise having bled into last season. The former Duke pass thrower decided to take his talents to South Bend after the conclusion of last season, but sure enough, the Blue Devils snagged former Texas quarterback Malik Murphy.
Murphy, who backed up Texas star Quinn Ewers last season, is currently in his first campaign as a full-time starter. The 6-foot-5, 230Ib quarterback has thrown for 1,431 yards, 14 touchdowns, and five interceptions. Furthermore, former Blue Devils rusher Jordan Waters, who led the Blue Devils in rushing in 2023, took his talents to NC State at the end of last season.
Duke football had to go through a lot of changes during the offseason due to a few of its key pieces having left, but they still find themselves with a 5-1 record and are 3-point favorites against the Seminoles.
Florida State, however, are having one of the more dissapointing seasons in recent memory. Sure, the Seminoles lost star players such as quarterback Jordan Travis and wideouts Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson, but no one expected the Seminoles to be this bad.
Head coach Mike Norvell went out and recruited former Oregon State and Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei from the transfer portal. Uiagalelei had a solid campaign with the Beavers last season by having posted a statline of 2,638 yards (career-high), 8.4 yards per pass average (career-high), and 21 touchdowns.
However, the 6-foot-4, 252 Ibs quarterback has regressed immensely. Uiagalelei struggles scanning the field, exhibits poor pocket awareness, and throws with poor accuracy. In 2024, Uiagalelei has thrown for only 1,065 yards, four touchdowns and six interceptions. The former Clemson quarterback is completing a career-low in passes (53.8 percent) and is having an all-around bad campaign.
Uiagalelei has been out of action due to having underwent hand surgery. In his place has been backup Brock Glenn, but the offense is still not clicking with Glenn under center (13 points vs Clemson). Overall, the Florida State offense is averaging only 14.8 points per game compared to last season's 34.5.
Surprisingly, Duke is only a 3-point favorite at home against a team that is lifeless and weary. Diaz, who led the Nittany Lions to third overall in team defense in 2023, is currently responsible for having the Blue Devils defense ranked ninth in passing efficiency defense and sixteenth in total sacks (18). Moreover, the defense allows just 4.8 yards per pass and 3.8 yards per rush.
The struggling Florida State offense (2.2 yards per rush, 6.4 yards per pass) will certainly have its hands full against a stout Duke defense that is overseen by one of the better defensive minded coaches in Diaz.
Can Duke finally beat Florida State for the first time in 32 years? Or will history continue to be on the side of the Seminoles, despite its downward spiral?