⚡ CFB Dashboard

- Duke named Walker Eget its starting quarterback after a competition with Dan Mahan, giving Jonathan Brewer an experienced transfer with 18 starts, 5,563 passing yards and 30 touchdowns. - Nate Sheppard remains the centerpiece at running back after a 1,132-yard, 11-touchdown freshman season, while freshman Jayvian Tanelus earned the third spot after rushing eight times for 38 yards in the final camp scrimmage. - Penn transfer Jared Richardson is the only first-listed wide receiver without an OR designation and brings 193 career catches, 2,505 yards and 27 touchdowns, while Duke's other two receiver spots remain contested. - Duke's projected offensive line owns 98 combined career starts but only 43 at Duke, with Coastal Carolina transfer Nick Del Grande at left tackle and former Michigan State and California lineman Braden Miller at right tackle. - Three of Duke's four first-listed defensive backs are new starters, with DaShawn Stone the established returner and portal additions supplying experienced depth behind the projected secondary.

- Duke's secondary enters 2026 under open competition after allowing a 67.2 percent completion rate, 276.8 passing yards per game, 8.4 yards per attempt and a 45.4 percent third-down conversion rate last season. - DaShawn Stone remains the secondary's established leader after starting all 14 games and recording 86 tackles in 2025, with Duke aiming to use his physicality closer to the line of scrimmage. - The primary corner competition features veteran transfer Dylan Flowers, physical Montana transfer Kyon Loud and returners Kimari Robinson and Landan Callahan, with all four expected to have rotational paths. - Sophomore safety Andrew Pellicciotta is positioned for a larger role after playing 357 snaps with 26 tackles, an interception and two pass breakups as a true freshman. - Transfers Patrick Smith-Young and Che Ojarikre give Duke package flexibility because Smith-Young can play safety or near the box while Ojarikre is cross-training between corner and safety roles.

- Duke's schedule is materially tougher than last season, and the roster no longer has the same veteran core or Clayborne. - The quarterback situation remains unsettled after losing Mensah: San Jose State transfer Walker Eget missed spring work while recovering from an ACL injury and is still competing with a freshman. - Despite those concerns, the analyst has a small numbers-based lean to the over on Duke's 5.5-win total because of a low evaluation of several other teams on the schedule; it was framed as a lean rather than a strong bet.