Duke enters the 2026 season attempting to defend an ACC championship for the first time in more than six decades. @totalistrading The Blue Devils went 9–5 in 2025 and captured their first outright conference title since 1962, continuing an impressive start to the Manny Diaz era. Diaz has now led Duke to consecutive nine-win seasons through his first two years in Durham. But the defending champions will look different after losing quarterback Darian Mensah, the MVP of the ACC Championship Game, to Miami. San Jose State transfer Walker Eget and redshirt freshman Dan Mahan will compete to replace him. Eget brings the most experience after throwing for 5,563 yards and 30 touchdowns across 18 career starts. The offense will be built around sophomore running back Nate Sheppard, who emerged as one of the ACC’s top young players during Duke’s championship run. Tight end Que’Sean Brown Hasley also returns after catching 40 passes for 454 yards and six touchdowns, including the game-winni...