Georgia Tech ended Duke's unbeaten run last October with a fluke-play gut punch — Duke won the ACC title anyway. Now the Blue Devils get a shot at payback with two brand-new starting quarterbacks in the building.
Bush’s Picks
DUKEGT
DUKEGT
OverUnder
Best BetDuke
Duke walks in with more continuity than Georgia Tech does — same coordinators, same program culture that just won a conference title, even with a new arm throwing the ball. Georgia Tech is replacing a Heisman-caliber quarterback with an unproven transfer, and that's a bigger question mark than anything Duke is dealing with. Back the Blue Devils to get this one back.
Duke
+Reigning ACC champions with title-tested coaching staff
+Retained both offensive and defensive coordinators
−Lost Darian Mensah, 34-TD passer, to Miami
−Ranked outside top 100 in returning production
Georgia Tech
+Beat Duke 27-18 in last season's meeting
+Added Justice Haynes, 7.1 yards per carry at Michigan
+Defense returns more talent than offense
−Lost Haynes King, a Heisman finalist, to the NFL
−Haynes coming off a foot injury that ended his 2025 year
Both sides show up to this one breaking in a new guy under center. Duke's Darian Mensah — 3,973 yards, 34 touchdowns, the engine of last year's ACC championship run — bolted for Miami, handing the job to San Jose State transfer Walker Eget. He dealt with a leg issue this offseason but Manny Diaz has said he's expected to be a full go for fall camp, which matters a lot given how much Duke is leaning on him. Georgia Tech's transition is just as steep: Haynes King, who finished 10th in Heisman voting and beat Duke himself last season, is off to the NFL, leaving Indiana transfer Alberto Mendoza to run George Godsey's offense.
Georgia Tech didn't sit on its hands trying to replace King's production. Michigan transfer Justice Haynes, who ran for 857 yards and 10 scores on 7.1 yards a carry before a foot injury ended his Wolverines season in late October, gives Brent Key a legit workhorse back to lean on while Mendoza gets his feet under him. Duke, meanwhile, kept both coordinators from its title run, which counts for something when so much of the roster has turned over.
Show fees
11:00 PM CT
Spread
ML
Total
DUKE Duke
GT Georgia Tech
Neither program is walking in blind to this environment. Georgia Tech beat Duke 27-18 last October behind a fumble-return score, then watched the Blue Devils win the conference anyway — that's the kind of result that lingers on both sidelines. This time it's Duke traveling to Atlanta looking for the receipts, and Georgia Tech defending its home turf with a defense that returns more than its offense does.
Duke Blue Devils
Sep 26?vs William & Mary—
Sep 19?vs Stanford—
Sep 12?@ Illinois—
Sep 5?vs Tulane—
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Sep 26?@ Stanford—
Sep 19?vs Mercer—
Sep 12?vs Tennessee—
Sep 3?vs Colorado—
Recent form.
The bigger swing factor by October is how far each new quarterback has come. Duke was ranked outside the top 100 nationally in returning production this offseason, so Eget won't have much of a supporting cast around him that Mensah didn't build from scratch himself. Mendoza, for his part, inherits a Georgia Tech program that reloaded hard in the portal and on the trail on defense, which should keep Yellow Jackets games close even while the offense finds its footing.
Duke Blue Devils
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
This is exactly the kind of ACC crossover that decides who's still playing meaningful football in November. Duke proved last year it can win a title with a first-year starter running the show; Georgia Tech proved it can beat Duke doing the same thing. Whichever quarterback looks more comfortable by the second week of October probably tells you who wins this one.
