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Despite winning the ACC championship last season, Duke coach Manny Diaz was not happy with his defense. The Blue Devils won a lot of games slinging the ball and scoring points, not preventing them.
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But going into this season, Diaz sensed a new vibe from his defensive guys.
“We’ve got a different feel,” he said before the season-opener against Tulane. “There’s a bite, there’s an urgency about them. But you’ve got to go out there and do it.”
The smile on the face of defensive coordinator Jonathan Patke on Monday pretty much said it all. There was much to like about Duke’s 17-3 victory over the Green Wave at Wallace Wade Stadium, especially on the defensive side.
“I thought our guys prepared with an edge and I thought they played with an edge,” Patke said.
The Green Wave finished with 54 rushing yards and 258 in total offense. Tulane was 3-of-14 on third-down conversion plays and 0-2 on fourth-down plays. It had 23:25 in possession time in the game and made it into the red zone just once, being held to a field goal for Tulane’s only points.
“It feels like a new identity and energy of this defense,” Duke linebacker Nick Morris Jr., said after the game. “And this is just the start. There’s so much more we can be better at, and that will happen.”
The Blue Devils used different defensive packages in the game and got a lot of players on the field. The defensive front had all new starters, and ends Bryce Davis and Tyshon Reed Jr. both had strong overall games. Davis, who had six tackles and two sacks, was named ACC defensive lineman of the week, and Diaz said Reed’s game was just as good.
A restocked secondary did its job, with rover Patrick Smith-Young making a diving, touchdown-saving tackle on one pass play and cornerback Kyon Loud getting a big smack on a receiver to stop a third-down play in the fourth quarter.
The Green Wave switched quarterbacks in the second half, going to Kadin Semonza, a quick-release thrower. Early in the third quarter, Semonza threaded a pass over the middle to wideout Destyn Hill into a tight window between linebacker Kendall Johnson and Morris, but Luke Mergott pursued and stripped the ball from behind for a turnover at the Duke 17 as Morris recovered.
Mergott hopped up and hugged safety Andrew Pellicciotta, whose pursuit across the field had slowed up Hill just enough to allow Mergott to make the play.
“I loved our connection, the way guys celebrated each other,” Patke said.
The Blue Devils should know a lot more about themselves after this week’s matchup: at Illinois. The Fighting Illini, playing Duke in Durham a year ago, broke up a close game in the second half and rolled to a 45-19 victory, taking advantage of Duke mistakes while also exposing weaknesses in the Blue Devils defense.
Like Duke, the Illini have shaken up their roster. Quarterback Luke Altmyer and wide receiver Hank Beatty, who burned the Devils’ defense a year ago, are gone. Katin Houser, a 6-3 senior, is the new starter at quarterback, transferring from East Carolina after passing for 3,300 yards and 19 TDs last season for the Pirates.
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Houser first played at Michigan State for two years, then went to ECU for two years. He led the Pirates to the Military Bowl win over N.C. State in 2024, and threw for 366 yards and a score in a 24-17 loss at State in the 2025 opener.
Houser had three touchdown passes and ran for a fourth as the Illini opened their season with a 42-23 win over UAB despite being limited to 21 minutes in possession time, 45 offensive plays and 332 total yards. Houser popped a 54-yard throw to wideout Ty Robinson on a Hail Mary pass to close out the first half. Wideout Collin Dixon had two TD grabs.
Patke’s scouting report on Houser: “Really efficient with the ball, great timing throws, has good arm strength. Feet can get him out of trouble. Over the years, he has been effective.”
Another twist to Saturday’s game: Duke assistant coach Trent Harris. Illinois coach Bret Bielema noted at his Monday press conference that the former Illini defensive coach now is in his first year as Duke’s defensive ends coach.
“Having a guy in our building for a couple of years builds a little nuance to it,” Bielema said of the game.
Harris played defensive end at Miami under Diaz and was first introduced to Bielema by Diaz. That led to Harris joining the Illinois staff as a linebackers coach – Bielema called him a “free agent” hire. Now, he’s back with Diaz again and going back to Gies Memorial Stadium.
“It’s kind of cool to see these things play out,” Bielema said.
Ca’Lil Valentine, a junior running back, is a “home-run threat” out of the backfield, Duke’s Patke said. He broke off a 51-yard run for a touchdown against UAB and finished with 88 yards on 11 carries.
“He’s very patient in the backfield and lets it develop and then he goes, with the speed to take it all the way,” Patke said. “They’re always hunting that big play.”
Matthew Bailey is the defensive leader in the secondary at safety. The 6-2, 225-pound fifth-year player, a team captain, has led the Illini in tackles each of the past two seasons and was named to nearly all of the preseason watch lists for 2026.
Some oddsmakers have Illinois as a 6.5-point favorite. FanDuel Sportsbook has it as a 5.5-point spread, with the moneylines -230 for Illinois and +188 for Duke. The over/under is set at 51.5.
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When: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
Where: Gies Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois.
TV/streaming: Fox Sports One (FSI); streaming on fubo TV.
Series history: Duke is 1-2 against Illinois, winning 15-13 in 1958 in Durham.
This story was originally published September 10, 2026 at 5:00 AM.