Heading into the season, Duke wasn’t getting much hype or high expectations for another great season under Manny Diaz.
After a dominating win over Tulane in the season opener and a road win at Illinois this past Saturday, those expectations might be changing. And while getting to a bowl game is certainly a worthy feat for a program that for so long dared to even dream of reaching the postseason, nothing can be taken off the board for the ceiling of this Blue Devils team.
Following Week 2 of the 2026 season, ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach released their bowl projections for the end of the season. While the Blue Devils aren’t yet projected to make any of the big ones or even the College Football Playoff, the games they are mentioned in are much
higher in esteem than those previously.
Bonagura has Manny Diaz’s squad staying close to home and playing in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte against the Big Ten’s Maryland on Dec. 26. A former member of the ACC, the Terrapins and Blue Devils have met 50 times in history, with Maryland holding a 31-19 advantage over Duke.
A trip north to Annapolis, Md., to face South Florida in the Freedom Mortgage Military Bowl on Dec. 28 is what Schlabach predicts for the Blue Devils. Duke and the Bulls have never met in the programs’ histories.
The Blue Devils are looking to make a fifth straight bowl game for the first time in history.
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This article originally appeared on Duke Wire: ESPN projects Duke to two different bowl games following Week 2
