The Duke Blue Devils were hit with some brutal news right before their game against Tulane.
The Duke Blue Devils are getting ready to open their new season against Tulane, but the game has been delayed due to storms in the area.
However, this isn't the worst news of the day for the Blue Devils. Duke is now expected to be without star wide reciever Javen Nicholas for the game due to undisclosed reasons.
Nicholas is a transfer out of Charlotte, who was expected to give the Blue Devils offense a boost this season. While there isn't a reason for why he will miss the game, this is certainly a blow to the chances for Duke tog et off to a strong start.
Last season, Nicholas caught 60 passes for 740 yards and five touchdowns. Nicholas played one season at Charlotte before coming to Duke.
He previously played at LSU, playing three seasons for the Tigers. But he didn't see the field much or contribute, with Nicholas only making four catches over the few seasons in Baton Rouge.
As for the game with Tulane, there has been a lot of hype around it. After the Green Wave beat Duke a year ago, the Blue Devils have been looking to get some revenge.
In the absence of Nicholas, the team will now look to others to step up and win this game against Tulane. Players such as Kavon Simmons, Jamien Little, Jaivon Solomon, and others will be called up to help produce.
Blue Devils head coach Manny Diaz has been hyping up the defense heading into this game, wanting to see more energy from his guys.
"We've got a different feel on the defensive side of the ball than we did a year ago," Diaz said. "There's a bite and an urgency about them that it reminds me more of '24 than what we saw in '25. But you got to go out there and do it."
Duke, the defending ACC Champions, has been working hard to build itself up for this coming season. While many people are discounting the team, the Blue Devils don't care and instead are focusing on what they can control: themselves.
It remains to be seen when kickoff will happen, but the game was originaly scheduled for 12:30 p.m. PT/3:30 p.m. ET. But the delay won't stop the excitement from the fans in Wallace Wade Stadium, and once the game gets going, the Blue Devils faithful will be all rowdy to root their team on.
