How Duke football’s strong 4th-quarter play can evolve into a consistent season
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Duke targets consistency across all 48 game quarters to reach ACC title game.
- Defense led ACC in turnovers forced and ranked top-five nationally in sacks.
- Close-game success builds confidence as Diaz emphasizes execution and grit.
Duke was a strong fourth-quarter football team last season, making big plays and winning close games.
Duke’s goal this season: be a strong 48-quarter team.
That’s the way Blue Devils coach Manny Diaz likes to explain it. The Devils were 9-4 a year ago on the strength of being able to win the tight ones, many decided in the final quarter or final minutes. The hope is that it was habit-forming and will be repeatable.
“I think the biggest challenge in college football is can you be the same for 48 consecutive quarters?” Diaz said last week at the ACC Kickoff in Charlotte. “You get assigned 12 games. You’ve got 48 quarters in those 12 games. In a league that’s so tightly packed, that’s so competitive, you think about all 48 and it can be two or three quarters that dictate who’s back here in December and who’s not.”
Back in Charlotte for the ACC championship game, that is. That’s where the Blue Devils want to be this season.
Duke was 9-3 in the regular season in 2024, Diaz’s first as head coach after replacing Mike Elko. The Blue Devils won six of seven games decided by seven or fewer points, and sealed a 29-19 win over N.C. State with some stout defensive play in the fourth quarter and a field goal in the final two minutes.
“Two or three bad quarters can be the difference of whether you’re playing in Charlotte at the end of the year, or, you know, going to Shreveport for a bowl game or not going to a bowl at all,” Diaz said at the recent Pigskin Preview in Raleigh.
“So you have to win the fine margins. You have to stay healthy, you have to protect the ball, all the things that are obvious. But it’s going to come down to a kick, a fourth-down stop, a red-zone score. That’s how the league is won or lost every year.”
Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren, seated to Diaz’s right at the Pigskin Preview, was quick to reaffirm what Diaz said.
“Manny is right on,” Doeren said. “We played in nine one-possession games a year ago and lost five in the last 60 seconds. It was a team on the verge of something great that ended up with something average.”
The Blue Devils ended up in the Gator Bowl, where it took a 52-20 loss to Mississippi. The Pack lost to East Carolina in the Military Bowl for a disappointing 6-7 close to the 2024 season.
“Football is such a confidence game,” Doeren said.
After 26 wins in the past three seasons, trailing only Clemson and Louisville in the ACC, the Blue Devils aren’t lacking confidence. There was a smooth transition from Elko, who left for Texas A&M, to Diaz and the Devils opened their first season with their new coach by going 5-0.
The fifth win was a sweet one. Duke fell behind North Carolina 20-0 at halftime, then battled back for a 21-20 victory that had the Blue Devils ringing the Victory Bell after the rivalry game at Wallace Wade Stadium.
The Devils finished off the victory with an interception, putting a big rush on UNC quarterback Jacolby Criswell and forcing a fluttering pass that linebacker Tre Freeman picked off.
“Our guys believe if we get the game to the fourth quarter, that’s our quarter and gives us a chance to win,” Diaz said after the game.
Diaz said the Devils called the fourth quarter the “sewer,” noting that continuing to outwork opponents for the full 60 minutes can pull them out of dark places and get the job done.
The Blue Devils’ most frustrating loss likely came in an Oct. 26 home game against SMU, one of the league’s newcomers. The Mustangs had six turnovers but minimized the damage and took a 28-27 victory when Duke scored in overtime and went for the win on a two-point play, only to miss on a pass.
SMU reached the ACC title game in its first season, losing a close one to Clemson, and advanced to the College Football Playoff.
By season’s end, Duke had put up some impressive defensive numbers, finishing fifth in the FBS in sacks per game and second to Ole Miss in tackles for a loss per game. The Devils also led the ACC in turnovers-forced with 27.
Defensive end Wesley Williams, who led the Devils with 7.5 sacks, believes the defense can be even more effective, efficient and disruptive this season.
“Instead of being fifth in the nation in sacks, we can push for first and take that step,” the redshirt junior said in an interview at the ACC Kickoff. “It’s hard to go from five to one versus going from 121 to five. That was easier. The jump from B+ to A+ is hard.
“For all the plays we made, there was probably another play or play and a half we missed in games. We want to make those plays and take the next step.”
Despite coming up with 27 turnovers, tied for seventh nationally, Duke tied for 24th in turnover margin and was plus-8 for the season – Clemson was fourth at plus-16 and the ACC leader. Diaz is hopeful that better offensive play, with transfer Darian Mensah now at QB, could bring improvement in a category many coaches call the most important of the slew of analytics.
Leading by seven points in the N.C. State game in Raleigh, the Blue Devils stopped a fourth-quarter Wolfpack possession with a heavy rush on quarterback C.J. Bailey that had safety Terry Moore crashing into the pocket. Taking over the ball with about six minutes left, Duke then ran off four minutes before a field goal that pushed the lead to 10.
Close game, close win. Those can make for big seasons and it’s something the Blue Devils, who host the Pack in their ACC opener on Sept. 20, want to carry over into this season.
“We know what the goal at hand is,” Williams said. “We know what it takes to be a 48-quarter team.. We know that last year or years prior we weren’t there yet.
“Our standard is the championship, absolutely, and we work every day towards that standard. With everything we do, every rep is championship standard.”
This story was originally published July 30, 2025 at 10:18 AM.
