Manny Diaz says Duke football loss to Ole Miss provides ...

Duke football coach Manny Diaz referenced Penn State as he discussed the Blue Devils’ blowout loss to Ole Miss in the Gator Bowl on Thursday in Florida. 

Following Duke’s 52-20 loss to the 14th-ranked Rebels in Jacksonville, Diaz highlighted how the Nittany Lions bounced back from a double-digit loss to Ole Miss last season to become a squad that has a chance to compete for a national championship as part of the College Football Playoff. 

“This is the exact game that we needed. We needed to be able to play in a setting like this against an opponent like this on an occasion like this. … It’s what we needed. It’s the lesson that we needed,” Diaz said after the final game of his debut season with the Blue Devils (9-4).

“I told the team in the locker room that Ole Miss team beat the heck out of Penn State in the Peach Bowl last year and Penn State is two wins away from winning a national championship. So, this will provide tremendous fuel for us in our offseason program.” 

REBELS BLOW OUT DUKE: Duke football dunked on by Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss in Gator Bowl

Quarterback Jaxson Dart and Ole Miss scored double-digit points in all four quarters and nearly reached 600 yards of offense against the Blue Devils, but Diaz didn’t want one bad showing to overshadow what was accomplished by the Blue Devils this season. 

“I am immensely proud of this football team, immensely proud of what they’ve accomplished. … I think the exciting thing is it’ll fuel us to push beyond. I think our players do believe there’s a beyond; this is not as good as it gets,” Diaz said. 

“I think that’s the most important takeaway from what we’ve done this season. They’re really proud of where they’ve been, but they do know what they saw (against Ole Miss), it gets better. They believe they can be a part of that.” 

How Manny Diaz feels about debut season with Blue Devils 

Duke won nine games for the second time in three seasons and the first time since 2014. The Blue Devils have accomplished that feat three times since the 1930s. Duke also beat each of its in-state rivals in Diaz’s debut season, setting the foundation for what the first-year coach hopes to be a springboard year toward loftier goals. 

“As time goes on, I think they will certainly recognize what a special year this was,” Diaz said of the 2024 team. “I think what we tried to talk about in the locker room was not as much about the accomplishments as it was about the people.” 

Veteran receivers Jordan Moore and Eli Pancol, who combined for 10 catches for 120 yards and a touchdown, played their final games as Blue Devils on Thursday night. Diaz wanted to honor those seniors in his thoughts on Duke’s season as a whole. 

“Any future success that we have,” Diaz said, “they will always be a part of that story.” 

Duke football schedule in 2025 includes trip to UNC to face Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels

The second season of the Manny Diaz era includes a nonconference schedule with home games against Elon and Illinois and away games at Tulane and UConn. As for the ACC slate, marquee games include a trip to Clemson and a rivalry matchup at rival North Carolina in Bill Belichick’s first season as head coach of the Tar Heels. 

"Quick turnaround," Diaz said. ". ... The next season begins on Tuesday night, which is really extraordinary. With our older guys, we gotta really give them some time to recover mentally and physically to get ready to attack 2025 and what we want to improve on from what we did in 2024."

Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@fayobserver.com.