Duke football is days away from opening its 2025 campaign.

The Blue Devils open their second season under Manny Diaz on Thursday, Aug. 28, hosting Elon at Wallace Wade Stadium. It’s a familiar matchup, as Duke also opened against the Phoenix in 2024, a 26-3 win that marked Diaz’s debut.

But Diaz has been quick to remind his team that last year’s game was closer than the final score suggests.

"For Elon, we have a lot of respect for the program that they're building over there and have built," Diaz said on Aug. 25. "And our guys are fully aware they had the ball at our 30-yard-line, 3:00 to go in the second quarter, 3-0 ball game."

While the Blue Devils do not enter the season ranked in the Top 25 of the 2025 Preseason US LBM Coaches Poll or the preseason AP Poll, it did receive vot

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