Duke continues its 2026 revenge tour to open the season by facing a second straight non-conference opponent it lost to last year. After opening the season with a 17-3 win at home over Tulane, the Blue Devils go on the road this week to face Illinois on the road.
The Illini will provide a much bigger challenge in Week 2. After being a solid favorite over Tulane, Duke will head to Champaign as nearly a touchdown underdog. But while most penciled this game in as a loss on the Duke schedule in the preseason, that might have been awfully premature.
Because Duke’s greatest strength on offense might be lining up with a significant weakness for Illinois, if their Week 1 performance against UAB was a real indication…