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The Mike Elko era of Duke football is upon us, kicking off on Friday night in Durham against Temple, under the direction of its first-year head coach, Stan Drayton.

With new leaders on both sides, everyone on the field will likely have long since put the programs' recent losing ways behind them — 3-9 records and last-place conference finishes for each last season — and begin the bout with a renewed sense of optimism.

Nevertheless, they're both in danger of receiving the one tag nobody wants.

Depending on a couple of other Week 1 outcomes, the loser between Duke and Temple could hobble away from Wallace Wade Stadium with the nation's longest active losing streak among FBS teams.

Florida International currently holds that dishonorable distinction with 11 losses in a row. But the Panthers are two-touchdown favorites or more to defeat Bryant at home on Thursday night.

Then there is Duke's current eight-game skid, which started after a 52-33 home win over Kansas in late September, resulting in a winless ACC campaign. It ties Indiana for the nation's second-longest losing streak at the moment, yet remember that the Hoosiers are slight favorites to win their home game against Illinois on Friday night.

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Meanwhile, Temple's seven-game losing streak puts the Owls in a tie with Nebraska and Stanford for the nation's third-longest.

So if FIU and Indiana win, either Duke or Temple will wear that unwanted crown — or at least a share of it — for at least a week.

Odds: Duke football versus Temple

At the time of this article's publishing, SI Sportsbook lists the Blue Devils as seven-point favorites over the Owls. And the over/under total stands at 51.5 points.

Duke and Temple finished among the 10 worst FBS scoring defenses last season. And on the other side of the ball, the Blue Devils and Owls are starting relatively inexperienced quarterbacks in sophomore Riley Leonard and redshirt sophomore D'Wan Mathis, respectively.

It seems the oddsmakers are anticipating a sloppy battle between loads of unproven talents and, in essence, giving the ACC's projected cellar dweller the slight edge over its AAC counterpart based mostly on home-field advantage.

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According to GoDuke.com, the Elko-Drayton chess match will mark only the fourth time since 1982 that first-year head coaches have debuted against one another.

Therefore, one could say the unknowns are historically abundant.

PREDICTION: Duke 31, Temple 17 (Elko enthusiasm prevails in front of the home crowd)

The game will air at 7:30 p.m. Friday on the ACC Network.

Stay tuned to Blue Devil Country for more Duke football coverage.