Duke Head Coach Gives Major Praise to Florida State Ahead of Top 25 Matchup

A top-25 ACC showdown in a sold-out Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday night is looming between Duke and Florida State.

As the Seminoles continue their climb to the top, this week marks the seventh consecutive week that FSU has been in the top five and is now 6-0 after their dominant 41-3 victory over Syracuse.

This week, FSU is preparing for its 22nd matchup against the Duke Blue Devils. FSU is undefeated against Duke, however, the last time the two teams played was in 2020 when the Seminoles defeated the Blue Devils 56-35. 

In his weekly press conference, Duke head football coach Mike Elko discussed the challenges his 16th-ranked Blue Devils will face playing a top-five opponent.

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“Looking ahead at Florida State, obviously an extremely talented football team, I have a ton of respect for the job Mike Norvell has done down there, I think he has built a program, not just a team, but a program. You can see it with how those kids play and the energy and passion that they play the game with,” Elko said in Monday’s press conference. “Offensively this is an extremely talented operation. It starts with the quarterback, Jordan Travis is playing at an elite level, he really has been for the better part of two years now, he knows exactly what he wants to do in that system, he’s managing it really well, you can see him have complete command of the offense not only as a quarterback but as a leader. It’s really impressive to see it.

While every play starts with the snap of the ball into the hands of the quarterback, Elko acknowledged the rest of the outstanding talent and depth at each position on the offensive side of the ball.

“They’ve got skill to burn all over the place, two really talented wide receivers in Wilson and Coleman, tall, athletic, can run, can separate, can make explosive plays, they rotate through four or five other guys and you don’t see any dropoff at all, they’re really talented at the wide receiver position. Jaheim Bell is a kid that I’m really familiar with from his time at South Carolina when I was at A&M going against him, a really athletic tight end, they play two or three tight ends that are all very talented. The offensive line has played a ton of football, so this is a complete offense for sure and will be a big challenge for us.

Defensively, Elko understands that FSU has continued to show its strength in preventing big time plays and in doing so creating game changing momentum. Coming off a game where the opposing team had three times as many punts as they did points, FSU is going to be a challenge for Duke’s offense.

READ MORE: Kickoff Time, TV Channel Finalized For FSU's Top-25 Matchup Against The Duke Blue Devils

“I think it’s the best front four that we’ve seen in our time here at Duke. Extremely athletic, really talented pass rushers, really disruptive getting off blocks. The two linebackers are all over the field making a ton of plays. Kalen DeLoach is a big-time playmaker, really playing the game at an awfully high level, and then the secondary is extremely aggressive, they’re gonna get in your face, they’re gonna press, they’re gonna play a lot of man-to-man, they’re gonna challenge every throw and really try to make the game very difficult for you. It’s a complete team, we’re gonna be down there on their homecoming under the lights in Tallahassee, so it’s a big challenge for us and it’s a challenge for us and certainly a challenge that we’re looking forward to.”

While Duke is very familiar with prime-time games this season, as this will be its third of the season, it will be the first time in the spotlight on the road. As any college football fan knows, Doak Campbell Stadium can be one of the loudest in the country, as it seats 79,560 fans which is over 30,000 more seats than Duke’s Wallace Wade Stadium. With nearly 80,000 people screaming the Warchant, there is no doubt this will be one of the toughest environments the Blue Devils will play in all year.

“I think our team is now used to going through a week where they’re talking about the game that we’re gonna play, I think they’re used to having an idea of what a spotlight game is, but we haven’t done this on the road yet, so we have to go do that and it’s gonna be a new challenge for us to kinda rise up to,” Elko said.

One of the biggest questions going into Saturday is the status of Duke quarterback Riley Leonard. After taking a big hit in the final seconds of their loss to Notre Dame, Leonard is going into his third week after the injury and would be a major asset to the Blue Devils if he is able to play against the Seminoles.

“He’s day to day,” Elko said regarding Leanord’s status going into their seventh game of the season.

The top 25 conference matchup will be held in Doak Campbell Stadium as FSU’s homecoming game. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 and the game will be on ABC.

Stick with NoleGameday for more coverage of Florida State football throughout the 2023 season.

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