Duke football James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

Duke Football: Manny Diaz Reacts to Wallace Wade Crowd

Originally posted on Duke Blue Devils on SI
By Matt Giles | Last updated Aug 31, 2024 4:37 PM ET

Less than 30 minutes before kickoff in Durham on Friday night, it looked as though most Duke football faithful were going to pass on showing up for Manny Diaz's debut as the Blue Devils' head coach.

Sure, the heavy rain a few hours earlier undoubtedly contributed to what was a notably sparse crowd at the time. Even so, one had to wonder if fans were still just too emotionally scarred from now-first-year Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko's build-and-bolt abandonment of the program last November to "put themselves out there again" in the Manny Diaz era.

Duke still plays football, y'all. Come on out. Elko hurt you. I get it. Time to get over it. pic.twitter.com/sii9XWxsuk
— Matt Giles (@MattGilesBD) August 30, 2024

However, the Wade Wackos, the student section for Duke football games, save the day, so to speak. They began pouring into Wallace Wade Stadium minutes before kickoff, and they did their part to wake up the fanbase for Diaz's bunch.

And the Blue Devils responded to the students' enthusiasm — not quite to the standard that Cameron Crazies have set for Duke basketball games in Cameron Indoor Stadium but an encouraging sign just the same — by putting on a show in the second half to the tune of a decisive 26-3 victory over Elon.

"Student section was awesome," Diaz, whose defense tallied the program's most tackles for loss in a game (16) since 2007, remarked in his postgame press conference after Duke Blue Devils On SI asked the 50-year-old for his thoughts on the crowd. "It's funny: I didn't look through the [new Devils Deck] as much as I wanted to during the game. I was kind of busy.

I asked Manny Diaz about the atmosphere for his debut as Duke football head coach. pic.twitter.com/e4NEG8l3PS
— Matt Giles (@MattGilesBD) August 31, 2024

"But I did notice the students. I thought they were phenomenal. And then, especially today, I mean, it was like build-an-arc rain from 2-4 this afternoon. And you worry about would that deter some people from coming. So, I thought our players fed off the energy of the game — of the crowd. Especially after we started rolling in the second half, it was a fun atmosphere to be around."

The former Miami head coach's energized Duke football team is now gearing up for a road battle against Northwestern at 9 p.m. ET Friday (FS1).

Something to build on pic.twitter.com/GE76Vnkw8C
— Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) August 31, 2024

Should the Blue Devils emerge victorious against the Wildcats, chances are the Wade Wackos and season-ticket holders make their way to Wallace Wade much earlier — rain or shine — than they did for the Elon game when Diaz's gang hosts UConn on Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. ET (ACCNX).