Duke entered the 2005 season as one of the worst programs in all of college football. The Duke Blue Devils last winning season was in 1994 and they had averaged two wins per season in the previous four prior to 2005.
Deceptive Blue Devils were a good value
Despite the losing, the deceptive Blue Devils were a good value in the previous three seasons with a mark of 20-13 against the spread. Duke Blue Devils covered seven of their final nine lined games of 2004 and head coach Ted Roof had covered the spread in eleven of his fifteen games as coach since taking over midway through 2003.
The big question entering 2005 Duke Blue Devils
The biggest problem that Duke Blue Devils faced entering 2005 is that they were incapable of keeping up with the times. The ACC had become one of, if not the toughest, conferences in college football and Duke was simply overwhelmed as a marginal D-1 program with minimal fan support. As the ACC continued to attract new defectors into their ranks such as Miami , Virginia Tech, and Boston College over the previous few years it became nearly impossible for Duke Blue Devils to keep up. How that would translate against the sportsbooks was the big question entering 2005.
Trouble started immediately
Duke opened their season at East Carolina against a Pirate team that was picked for the bottom of the mid-major Conference USA standings. The Blew Devils were a 3-point chalk but were stunned in a 21-24 loss in ECA head coach Skip Holtz’s debut as trouble started immediately.
Next was the home opener against Virginia Tech, an up and coming power favorite in the ACC. The Hokies were 21.5-point chalks and easily covered in a 45-0 pasting of the Blue Devils that turned off what few Duke Blue Devils football fans there were. This was followed by a 40-14 win against 1-AA VMI in a game that was not on the betting boards.
Back to reality Duke Blue Devils
It was back to 1-A competition for Duke Blue Devils , which meant back to reality. They traveled to Virginia to take on the rebuilding Cavaliers who were 23.5-point chalks. Even against a struggling program, Duke was no match in a 7-38 loss.
Duke came home to face Navy in a seemingly winnable game against the 0-2 straight up Midshipmen. Navy was a 4-point chalk and proved why in a 28-21 win that left Duke standing at 0-4 both straight up and against the spread versus 1-A competition.
Hopeless and hapless
Up next for Duke was a trip to Miami for a no-chance game against the Hurricanes, who were installed as 36.5-point chalks. Miami slaughtered Duke 52-7.
Duke came home to face an erratic but talented Georgia Tech team, who was favored by a whopping 21-points. Even this big line was not enough for the hopeless and hapless Blue Devils who lost 10-35.
Duke became a popular “go against” team on the lists of many gamblers as they hosted Florida State . Despite FSU’s offensive woes they were still made 30-point road chalks and were able to get the cash, although barely, in a 55-24 win, as Duke’s losing streak against the sportsbooks reached seven games.
Things continued to unravel for Duke as they hosted fellow ACC lightweight Wake Forest on Senior Day. The Deacons were, incredibly enough, made 13-point chalks and covered with ease in a 44-6 humiliation. This was followed by a 20-49 loss at Clemson to the 28-point chalk Tigers.
A nice final effort Duke Blue Devils
Having lost all nine of their lined games both straight up and against the spread Duke took on arch rival North Carolina as a 22.5-point dog. If ever there was a game in which they Blue Devils would make a maximum effort, this would be the one, as they covered in a 21-24 loss.