For the first time since 2005, the Blue Devils will hit the road to kick off the 2015 campaign and their bid for three consecutive nine-win seasons.
Duke released its 2015 schedule Thursday morning and announced that it will play six of its 12 games at home in the newly-renovated Wallace Wade Stadium. The Blue Devils open the season with a trip to New Orleans for a Sept. 3 road contest against Tulane—a group Duke dismantled 47-13 at home this year—before christening the new Wallace Wade with the Sept. 12 home opener versus N.C. Central. This will mark the first time since 2005 that the Blue Devils will open the season on the road.
In total, the schedule features an even split of six home games and six road games for a Duke squad that returns nine starters from last year’s 9-4 team. The Blue Devils will enjoy a stretch of four straight home games early in the season, with N.C. Central, Northwestern, Boston College and Georgia Tech all slated to make the trek to Durham in consecutive weeks following Duke’s season opener at Tulane. The matchup against Northwestern will be the first time Duke has squared off against a Big-10 foe since it faced the Wildcats themselves during the 2008 campaign in a 24-20 Northwestern victory.
The Blue Devils conclude the season with a tough stretch of three ACC road games in their last four contests. Duke will take on rival North Carolina in Chapel Hill Nov. 7 and finish off the season with back-to-back tilts at Virginia Nov. 21 and at Wake Forest Nov. 28.
The other ACC games for the Blue Devils are an Oct. 24 road showdown against Virginia Tech, a Halloween home matchup versus Miami and a Nov. 14 contest against Pittsburgh in what will be Duke’s final regular-season home game of the year. The Blue Devils will also travel to West Point, N.Y. to battle Army Oct. 10, a matchup that precedes Duke’s only bye week of the year.
Six of the Blue Devil’s opponents qualified for a FBS bowl game in the 2014 season, and the 12 teams on Duke’s 2015 schedule posted a combined record of 70-81—a .464 winning percentage. The Blue Devils will be aiming for their fourth consecutive bowl berth and look to contend once again in the ACC Coastal Division.
SEPTEMBER
3—at Tulane
12 – N.C. CENTRAL
19—NORTHWESTERN
26—GEORGIA TECH
OCTOBER
3—BOSTON COLLEGE
10—at Army
17—Open
24—at Virginia Tech
31—MIAMI
NOVEMBER
7—at North Carolina
14—PITTSBURGH
21—at Virginia
28—at Wake Forest
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