First look: What to know about Duke’s road game against Tulane
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Duke aims to rebound from Illinois loss in road matchup against 2-0 Tulane.
- Quarterback Darian Mensah returns to Tulane after transferring to Duke in 2025.
- Tulane showcases balanced offense while Duke’s passing attack faces key test.
Duke will go to Tulane this week badly wanting to win a football game for Darian Mensah, no doubt.
As most know, the Blue Devils quarterback played at Tulane last season. Mensah was one of the top players in the transfer portal and became one of the highest paid players — in terms of NIL packages — in college football.
But while the Devils will want to win for Mensah on Saturday at Yulman Stadium, their top priority is more simple: Win.
After a 45-19 whipping by No. 11 Illinois on Saturday, Duke (1-1) will be looking to make adjustments and change course quickly in their third nonconference game, and first road game.
“We’re a resilient team,” defensive end Vincent Anthony Jr. said after the game. “Since I’ve been at Duke we’ve always had a resilient team. We’ve been in this situation before. We’ll be OK.”
The Green Wave, 9-5 a year ago with Mensah at QB, will go into the game 2-0 after holding off South Alabama for a 33-31 road victory in Mobile, Alabama.
Tulane (2-0) had a 27-14 lead after three quarters, but the Jaguars rallied for 17 fourth-quarter points to make things interesting. The Green Wave showed good offensive balance with 242 yards rushing — Zuberi Mobley and Javin Gordon combining for 162 — and 165 passing.
Quarterback Jake Retzlaff, who transferred in from BYU to replace Mensah, passed for 125 yards and a touchdown and added 64 yards and a TD rushing.
Key matchup: Duke passing game vs. Tulane D
The Green Wave defensive staff likely will study the way Illinois tried to confuse and confound Mensah and the Blue Devils’ offense, and could play copycat with some of the Illini looks.
Mensah, after a 389-yard passing game against Elon in the opener, was 23-of-34 for 334 yards against the Illini. Duke had 11 players catch passes and wide receiver Andrel Anthony had a pair of TD receptions, including a tip-toe beauty at the rear of the end zone just before halftime.
But the Illini twice knocked the ball out of Mensah’s hands for turnovers. Defensive back Tanner Heckel picked off a Mensah pass at the Illinois 12 in the fourth quarter.
Duke coach Manny Diaz noted the Illini used “way more zone” than that they had shown previously on defense.
“You could tell they were really concerned about our ability to run at wide receiver,” Diaz said. “I thought the way Illinois played us schematically compared to what they normally do was a sign of respect for what we’re building on offense.”
South Alabama had 421 yards of total offense and passed for 231 yards against the Green Wave defense as wideout Devin Voisin had eight catches for 152 yards and two scores. The Duke staff will watch that, too.
Tulane impact players: Retzlaff, Despanie
Jake Retzlaff won 11 games at BYU last season but decided to transfer in July when facing a possible suspension for violating the school honor code, according to ESPN reports.
Retzlaff’s debut at Tulane was all good: a 23-3 win over Northwestern in which the redshirt senior threw for 152 yards and rushed for 113, ripping off a 69-yard TD run. His numbers would have been shinier in the season opener had receivers not dropped six passes.
Retzlaff, like Mensah, is a California kid and a native of Corona, east of Anaheim. He played at Riverside City College before moving on to BYU, where he was a co-captain in 2024. Retzlaff had a career-high 328 yards passing in BYU’s 2024 season opener against Southern Illinois.
Strong safety Bailey Despanie is a defensive leader for the Green Wave and among those who will be tested by Mensah and Duke’s receivers. The redshirt senior, a second-team All-AAC pick in 2024, had had 119 tackles in the past two seasons in the secondary and has some pop in his game.
Tulane had four interceptions in shutting down the Northwestern offense, two by sophomore Javion White.
Vegas betting line
The early Vegas betting line has Tulane a 2.5-point favorite and the over/under set at 51.5 points. The moneyline has Duke +105 and Tulane -126.
Duke vs. Tulane game info
Teams: Duke (1-1, ACC) vs Tulane (2-0, AAC)
Where: Yulman Stadium, New Orleans.
Date: Saturday, Sept. 13, 8 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2.
Stream: fubo TV, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV Stream, Sling TV.
Series history: The Blue Devils and Green Wave had played five times since 1964 but three times since 2011. Duke won all three, in 2011, 2014 and 2015. Duke was a 37-7 winner in 2015 at Yulman Stadium.
