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Tag: Manny Diaz

  • Nate Sheppard’s 3-yard TD, Duke’s 2-point conversion stun Clemson 46-45 :: WRALSportsFan.com

    By PETE IACOBELLI, Associated Press

    CLEMSON, S.C. — CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Duke coach Manny Diaz did not want to chance overtime at Clemson’s Death Valley. His team made sure he wouldn’t have to.

    Nate Sheppard had a 3-yard touchdown run with 40 seconds left and Duke followed with a two-point conversion from Darian Mensah to Shamir Hagans to win at Clemson for the first time since 1980 with a 46-45 victory Saturday.

    “Going extra innings at Death Valley isn’t really a good plan,” Diaz said.

    Winning in regulation somewhere you hadn’t in 45 years? “This is a major step for our program,” Diaz said.

    The Blue Devils (5-3, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) trailed 45-38 and started the game-winning drive on their 6-yard line. Mensah led an 11-play drive in which he converted two fourth downs to set up Sheppard’s TD run.

    There was no hesitation from Duke’s Diaz who kept the offense on the field and Mensah quicky found Hagans for the decisive points.

    It was a quirky game of dramatic momentum swings. Duke looked unstoppable in gaining 199 yards in the first quarter to lead 21-7. But Clemson woke up with three straight TDs to lead 28-21. The Tigers looked in control again with six minutes left until Duke’s final drive.

    “We just stayed poised and showed our confidence,” Mensah said.

    It was another low moment in a terrible season for Clemson (3-5, 1-4), the defending ACC champions and a trendy pick to win Dabo Swinney’s third national title. The Tigers have lost four home games for the first time since 1998.

    They’re on pace for Swinney’s worst season since 2010 when the Tigers were 6-7 and the coach thought his time at the school was done. Instead, he won eight ACC titles and national championships after the 2016 and 2018 seasons.

    “I feel like I’m in 2010 all over again,” Swinney said.

    After Duke took the final lead, the Tigers tried a desperation, pass the ball to anyone open play as the clock ran out. When Duke finally stopped the play, the sidelines jumped into joyous celebration. After all, it had been more than four decades since the football Blue Devils had left Death Valley with a victory.

    Mensah finished with 361 yards passing and a career-best four touchdown passes.

    Clemson piled up the yards and points, too — 560 yards and its most points this season — but could not get the critical stops to avoid a third straight home loss.

    Cade Klubnik, in his first game back since getting injured against Boston College last month, passed for 385 yards and two touchdowns for Clemson.

    Receiver Antonio Williams caught 10 passes for 139 yards, running for one score and catching another.

    Likely NFL first-round defensive lineman Peter Woods added a 1-yard rush off a direct snap for Clemson.

    Clemson linebacker Wade Woodaz said this season has made him sick. “It’s not like we’re not practicing. It’s not like we’re not working,” he said. “It hurts.”

    Duke: The Blue Devils pulled out all the stops to snap a 15-game losing streak here. They finished 5-of-5 on fourth downs, four of those coming in the first half. Hagans also had a 100-yard kickoff return score in the third quarter.

    Clemson: Things can’t get much lower for the Tigers, on the verge of their worst season of Swinney’s 17 full seasons. They play Florida State next week and have road games at Louisville and rival South Carolina.

    Duke’s late rally kept the Blue Devils in the hunt for a spot in the league’s title game next month. Coming off a loss to Georgia Tech two weeks ago, the Blue Devils could’ve fallen out of the hunt. Instead, they are assured of bigger games ahead.

    The Blue Devils won their fifth straight ACC road game, something they had not done since a stretch from Sept. 1961 through Sept. 1963. Duke had lost 15 straight games at Death Valley since its last win in 1980.

    Duke goes to UConn on Saturday.

    Clemson plays its final ACC home game against Florida State on Saturday night.

    —- Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

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  • Blue Devils welcome Illinois for first Top-11 home opponent in nearly two years :: WRALSportsFan.com

    By Joseph Ochoa, WRAL multiplatform producer

    11Illinois Fighting Illini
    Duke Blue DevilsDuke Blue Devils
    ESPN | Saturday, September 6th 12:00 PM EDT

    It will be an exciting atmosphere on Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium as the Duke Blue Devils take on the No. 11 Illinois Fighting Illini.

    The matchup is expected to be one of the most anticipated games at Wallace Wade Stadium since 2023, when the Blue Devils hosted the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a primetime game on ABC. Duke University also played host to the popular pregame show College GameDay.

    While there won’t be as much fanfare as in 2023, Duke head coach Manny Diaz said the Blue Devils will be ready.

    “When you look at two teams that were so good in the fourth quarter a year ago? I think both teams will show toughness, and I think we have a team that feels the same way,” Diaz said.

    If Diaz wants the matchup to go in Duke’s favor, the Blue Devils will need to get to a hot start.

    The Blue Devils (1-0) hit the ground walking on Thursday, August 28, but turned it around in the second half for a 45-17 win against the Elon Phoenix at Wallace Wade Stadium.

    The Fighting Illini have not been ranked this high in the AP Top 25 polls since 2008, when the Illini won an at-large bid to the Rose Bowl against the USC Trojans. The Fighting Illini are also on a tear, with a five-game winning streak dating back to November 2024.

    Diaz said games like Saturday’s are the ones the Blue Devils want.

    “What I know is the best way to get eyeballs on our games is to get Duke better,” Diaz said. “I think it’s awesome that Illinois is ranked what they’re ranked. I like to think we have a hand in the fact that it’s a noon kickoff as well.”

    Who to watch for the Blue Devils: Transfer power on display at QB

    Quarterback Darian Mensah, who transferred to Duke after one season with the Tulane Green Wave, was lights out against Elon. He completed 79.4% of his passes for 389 yards and three touchdowns.

    The Blue Devils will need him to get out to a hot start if Duke wants to upset the Illini and make their way into the AP Top 25. With more than a week of rest under them, they could be in good shape for an upset.

    When, where and how to watch Duke

    When: Noon, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025

    Where: Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium, Durham, North Carolina

    How to watch: ESPN

    Hollywood Smothers, Max Johnson and Darian Mensah

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  • Governor Highlights Florida Prepaid Program Success, Encourages Parents to Claim Refunds

    Governor Highlights Florida Prepaid Program Success, Encourages Parents to Claim Refunds

    During National College Savings Month, Governor Ron DeSantis announced record refunds to parents through the Florida Prepaid program and encourages all Florida families to take advantage of an affordable prepaid college plan.

    In total, Florida has returned nearly $1 billion to Florida families through Prepaid Florida refunds. Florida Prepaid is the largest and longest running prepaid program of its kind, with a 35-year track record of helping over 1.2 million Florida families save for college so they can graduate and enter the workforce without burdensome loan debts.

    “Because of our focus on academic achievement and fiscal responsibility, Florida has both the number one ranked higher education system and the lowest tuition in the country,” said Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. “Florida’s flexible college savings options like the Florida Prepaid program allow parents to get a head start on paying for the future, and even get money back when tuition stays low. And because I have ensured tuition has not been raised in Florida since I’ve become Governor, we have another round of refunds available for parents now.”

    The Florida Prepaid college saving program allows Florida families to lock in future tuition costs at today’s prices. Because the program factors in what tuition may cost in the future, parents receive a refund if tuition stays lower than what is predicted, often resulting in thousands of dollars back.

    “Florida is setting an example for the rest of the nation for ensuring that students can access higher education without taking on high amounts of debt,” said Florida Department of Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr. “I am proud that Florida not only offers options like Florida Prepaid, but we are also returning money to parents because Governor DeSantis has kept tuition low.”

    “There is a national narrative that higher education is extremely costly and not worth it. As the number one state for higher education for eight years in a row, Florida universities are a great return on investment. Florida has held tuition and fees flat and continues to prioritize textbook affordability,” said Ray Rodrigues, Chancellor of the State University System of Florida. “National College Savings Month provides an opportunity to highlight the affordability of our public institutions and the benefit Florida’s Prepaid College Savings Programs offer to families.”

    Since Governor DeSantis took office, Florida has secured two rollbacks on Florida Prepaid Plan rates, one in 2020 and another earlier this year. These rollbacks have resulted in hundreds of thousands of families paying less, with their prepaid plan rates being reduced by a cumulative amount of $2.6 billion. In fact, more than 40,000 families still need to collect their 2024 refund, with over $130 million in unclaimed refunds.

    To find out if you have an unclaimed refund, please login to your Florida Prepaid account.

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  • Duke rose quickly under Mike Elko. Now Manny Diaz is aiming to keep that upward trajectory

    Duke rose quickly under Mike Elko. Now Manny Diaz is aiming to keep that upward trajectory

    DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Duke made a quick climb under Mike Elko. Now it’s up to Manny Diaz to build something more.

    The former Miami head coach and Penn State defensive coordinator has taken over in Durham, leading a program that crashed in the final seasons of David Cutcliffe’s long and successful tenure before winning 16 games in two seasons under Elko.

    Elko left for Texas A&M as the Blue Devils prepared for their bowl game. The 50-year-old Diaz took over in December for his second stint as a head coach, the first ending when he was fired in 2021 after three seasons with the Hurricanes.

    “We all learn,” Diaz said. “I’ve never been the same defensive coordinator twice in my career. You’re always taking the lessons from the last year, the last season, the career, and applying it and trying to be a better person. No different as a coach than what you would expect and demand from your players.”

    Diaz went 21-15 at Miami, including a 16-9 record in Atlantic Coast Conference games that stood second only to Clemson (22) in league wins.

    He inherits a roster that lost seven offensive starters and eight on defense from last season. That list includes four Associated Press all-ACC performers, as well as quarterback Riley Leonard (transferred to Notre Dame) and running back Jordan Waters (transferred to North Carolina State).

    Duke leaned into the transfer portal to add 17 graduates, including eight on the offensive line alone. This year’s team is picked to finish 11th in the expanded 17-team ACC.

    “We’ve got an outstanding group of graduate transfers and instantly transformed our team from being very young, which in way-back-when days not very long ago, might set you back for a few years,” Diaz said. “And we feel like now we’re poised to go again, and I think our players believe that as well.”

    Welcome back

    Diaz knows Duke’s home in the “Triangle” region of North Carolina well. He coached at nearby North Carolina State from 2000-05 under Chuck Amato and had two sons born in Raleigh, about 30 minutes east of Duke’s campus.

    QB battle

    The highest-profile position battle entering the season was between Texas transfer Maalik Murphy and returning sophomore Grayson Loftis.

    But Diaz announced Monday night that Murphy had won the job.

    “Maalik has earned the opportunity to be our starting quarterback with his preparation, work ethic and productivity,” Diaz said.

    Murphy appeared in seven games with two starts for the playoff-bound Longhorns last year, which had followed him creating a buzz in the spring game.

    “Nobody wants to be in a quarterback room that kind of just sits back and no one gets better,” Murphy said. “Everybody’s getting pushed.”

    Loftis started the last five games with Leonard injured last year, winning three and leading Duke past Troy in the Birmingham Bowl as a true freshman.

    Defensive carryover?

    Duke safety Jaylen Stinson is one of the returning defensive starters, who are largely concentrated in the secondary. He said Diaz’s success with the Nittany Lions — who finished second nationally in total defense (247.6 yards) and third in scoring defense (13.5) — was an appealing aspect of his arrival and had him envisioning what he could do in the scheme.

    “Those guys were on fire last year,” Stinson said, adding: “So a lot of guys were excited to have him come here because we know what he can do.”

    He said it

    “Credit to Elko and everything he did here. I’m just excited to see what Coach Diaz has to bring. He seems like a coach that likes to listen, very player-oriented coach. I’m excited to see how the season goes.” — Duke receiver Jordan Moore

    The schedule

    Diaz’s debut comes Aug. 30 against Elon at home, followed by a trip to Big Ten country to face Northwestern in the Blue Devils’ top nonconference game.

    The ACC schedule opens at home against rival North Carolina (Sept. 28). There’s also a visit from No. 10 Florida State (Oct. 18) as reigning league champion and preseason favorite. Duke’s only game against the three newly added ACC schools comes at home against SMU (Oct. 26). Duke closes the year with a Nov. 30 trip to Wake Forest.

    ___

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