Duke’s Cooper Barkate was finishing up a postgame interview Thursday, after a 45-17 win over Elon in the opener, when he noted it was “On to Illinois.”
Barkate smiled when he was reminded that sounded like someone else in the Triangle, albeit a lot older and a coach. The wide receiver played football at Harvard for three years before coming to Duke. Barkate is well-versed in the New England Patriots and the pet phrase used by the guy with the Super Bowl rings now at UNC, Bill Belichick.
But the Blue Devils’ collective mindset was that they would quickly turn the page after beating the Phoenix in the season opener. It was a good-enough win, for starters, but the step-up in competition will be sharp and immediate as Duke hosts Illinois next Saturday in an ACC vs Big Ten matchup.
Illinois, 10-3 last season, was ranked No. 12 when it played its 2025 opener Friday against the Western Illinois Leathernecks. The Fighting Illini were solid betting favorites – a 45-point pick by most oddsmakers -- and came away with a 52-3 win.
Barkate had an ugly looking bruise on his left arm Thursday night and said his back was aching a little, reminders that the game with Elon, an FCS team, was tougher on the field than the final score might indicate.
Barkate, in his first game at Duke, had five catches, including what Blue Devils coach Manny Diaz called the biggest of the night. Barkate finished with a game-high 117 yards, getting 45 after the catch.
“As a kid my dad always told me it was pretty important to finish through contact and the yards after catch,” Barkate said. “You’re just trying to help the team, and whatever I get the ball in my hands I try to make the most of it.”
It was 10-10 at halftime Thursday and Duke quickly faced a third-and-12 from its 15 to start the second half. But quarterback Darian Mensah looked to Barkate, who latched on to Mensah’s throw on a curl-in route, put his head down and gave the Blue Devils a first down with a 17-yard catch-and-run.
“The play of the game,” Diaz said. “That was a big-time throw.”
Mensah, who had a 27-for-34, 389-yard passing debut for Duke, would follow with completions of 46 and 10 yards to Barkate. The Blue Devils scored on Mensah’s 15-yard pass to Sahmir Hagans to take the lead, capping an 8-play, 83-yard drive, and never lost it in closing with 548 yards in total offense.
As Barkate put it, it was soon on to Illinois.
Key game matchup: Duke receivers vs Illini defenders
It should be a busy week for Illinois defensive coordinator Aaron Henry, a former N.C. State assistant coach on Dave Doeren’s staff now in his third season as the Illini DC.
Henry and his defensive staff will study a Duke offense that had Mensah use 10 pass catchers in beating Elon. Barkate had a big night, but Que’Sean Brown caught a team-high six balls for 93 yards and Hagans had five catches, two for touchdowns. Tight ends Landen King and Jeremiah Hasley had catches along with running backs Anderson Castle, Nate Sheppard and Peyton Jones.
“We really have a lot of weapons and we like the depth of our weapons,” Diaz said Thursday. “Certainly a lot of talk will be about Mensah and how he played, but if you look at where the ball can go now it’s exciting. We’ve got a lot of guys who can contribute.”
Henry, who was at NCSU from 2017-19, was an All-Big Ten defensive back at Wisconsin when Illinois coach Bret Bielema was the Badgers’ head coach and Doeren defensive coordinator. The Illini defense ranked 31st nationally in 2024, moving up 65 slots.
Illini impact players: Altmyer, Jacas
Bielema, in his fifth season, concedes the “buzz” around the program is much more noticeable after the Illini’s 10-win season, which tied the school record. Illinois had a win over Michigan and ended with a four-game win streak after a 21-17 victory over South Carolina in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, finishing No. 16 in the final AP poll.
The buzz? The Illini have 16 starters returning from last season – along with Duke – and 18 players who started the bowl game. Among them: quarterback Luke Altmyer and outside linebacker Gabe Jacas, both voted among the Big Ten’s top 15 players in preseason by the media.
Altmyer, a 6-2 senior, is a Mississippi native who came to Illinois from Ole Miss. He had 21 TD passes and five interceptions for the Illini a year ago and has notched five career game-winning drives in the final minute of regulation or in overtime – three last season.
Altmyer was one of four Power-4 quarterbacks (including Clemson’s Cade Klubnik) with 20+ TD throws and five or fewer picks last season, and his passing efficiency (144.0) was the second highest in school history. He opened the 2025 season with 217 yards passing and three TDs against Western Illinois.
Jacas, listed at 6-3 and 270 pounds, has been named a preseason All-America by ESPN. Talk about great stats. The senior, a two-time All-Big Ten selection, is coming off a season that had him amass eight sacks and 13.0 tackles for a loss, 10 quarterback hurries and three forced fumbles. Seven of his sacks came in Big Ten games.
Illini cornerback Xavier Scott earned a spot on the All-Big Ten first team in 2024 and is the leader in the secondary, but Jacas could be the defensive disruptor who most concerns Duke.
Vegas betting line
The Illini first opened as a 10.5-point favorite over Duke before each played their season openers, and the line has since shifted to 4.5 points. The over/under is 49.5. The moneyline for Illinois: -188. For Duke: +155..
Duke vs Illinois game info
Teams: Duke (1-0, ACC) vs Illinois (1-0, Big Ten).
Where: Wallace Wade Stadium, Durham.
Date: Saturday, Sept. 6.
Time: 12 p.m.
TV: ESPN or ABC.
Stream: fubo TV, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV Stream, Sling TV.
Series history: It’s not a long one. Duke and Illinois have played twice, each winning at home. The Illini took a 28-14 win in 1965 and Duke was a 15-13 winner in 1958.