After pillaging the Duke Blue Devils' roster for talent, Josh Pate warns that a grueling schedule and massive production losses make a repeat ACC title run nearly impossible.
Duke had the opportunity to be one of the hottest teams in the country going into the offseason after rattling off a four-game winning streak at the end of the 2025 campaign by winning the ACC championship and then knocking off Arizona State 42-39 in the Sun Bowl.
Then came the transfer portal.
Duke lost quarterback Darian Mensah and wide receiver Cameron Bakrate to Miami. The Blue Devils replaced Mensah with San Jose State transfer Walker Eget.
There's no way to sugarcoat the change. Duke is downgrading at quarterback this season.
Still, the Blue Devils had no business winning the ACC last year. Can they do it again?
A fan gave Josh Pate a bold prediction for the upcoming season, calling for Duke to repeat as ACC champs.
Pate ranked the bold prediction as a 9.75 out of 10, arguing it will be near impossible for the Blue Devils to win the conference this season.
“Duke repeats as ACC champs behind an improved defense and a fantastic sophomore season from (running back) Nate Sheppard," Pate said on his show Tuesday. "This is a nine point seven five. I do not have Duke repeating as the ACC champion. Notice he said wins.
"They can't just make it. They've got to win it. 'Now you said Josh, they made it last year and they won it.' Yes, they made it last year, but they didn't play Miami. They played Virginia."
Pate thinks even if the ACC fixes its tiebreaker, the schedule will be too daunting for Duke this year without Mensah, calling it a rebuilding year for head coach Manny Diaz.
“So if they fix the tiebreaker, you've got to assume they're going to have to go through Miami, which again, they didn't last year," Pate said. "So they lost their quarterback to Miami. They lost their best wide receiver to Miami.
"They only returned 42 receiving yards. If the tiebreaker is fixed, it makes the path harder and they're 77th in returning production this year. No, Duke is not winning the ACC again. This is a rebuilding year for Manny Diaz.”
A lot would have to happen for Duke to repeat as champs. Clemson, SMU, and Louisville are expected to compete for a spot in the conference championship game to face Miami.
On paper, those four teams are way better than Duke.
