We have a blanket philosophy regarding first-year head coaches who have spent their entire careers as assistants, in particular those sorts who warrant promotion from successful coordinator gigs. In truth, there are almost as many decorated coordinators who have flopped as head coaches as there are tobacco leaves in the Carolinas. Many industry observers have long believed that the most-successful "micro" aspects of being a play-caller or coordinator do not always transfer to the "macro" approach of successful head coaches, who learn early how to properly delegate authority and oversee an entire operation.

But we reserve the right to change our tune quickly when one of those promoted assistants proves adept at the top spot. Such was the case last year at Duke when, comparably speaking, first-year HC Mike Elko even exceeded his hoops counterpart in Durham, Jon Scheyer. Even Coach K was reportedly very impressed with the debut of Elko, who fashioned one of the best turnarounds in the country as the Blue Devils emerged from the dark conclusion of the David Cutcliffe era to a nine-win bowl winner in 2022. Had Willie Fritz not engineered an even-more dramatic recovery at Tulane, Elko might have had a case for Coach of the Year.  

Bruce Marshall's full breakdown of Duke's 2023 outlook, which includes how he's playing their win total, can be found below as part of SportsLine's preview of the ACC season.

ACC preview: Conference winner | Boston College | Clemson | Duke | Florida State | Georgia Tech | Louisville | Miami | NC State | North Carolina | Pittsburgh | Syracuse | Virginia | Virginia Tech | Wake Forest

2023 Duke at a glance

• Last Year: 9-4 SU, 9-4 ATS, 5-7-1 O/U
  
• Returning Starters: Offense 8; Defense 7
• Win Total: 6 (Over -155, Under +135)
  

What do you need to know about Duke before locking in your ACC futures bets? And which side of their win total makes for the best play? ... Join SportsLine right now to see ACC futures betting strategy from a veteran college football expert!