Duke traveled to Syracuse for their first ACC road game in the 2025 season and dismantled the Orange 38-3. Duke forced three turnovers, two fumbles and one interception, to win the turnover battle for the second game in a row. The Blue Devils rolled to 504 yards Total Offense and did not turn the ball over.
Freshman running back Nate Sheppard had a breakout game rushing 15 times for 168 yards and two touchdowns. He also recorded four receptions for 33 yards.
Quarterback Darian Mensah completed 22 of
28 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns.
Duke improves to 3-2 overall and 2-0 in the ACC.
Play One: Syracuse received the opening kick off and immediately completed passes of 33 and 14 yards along with a six-yard run to advance the ball to the duke 36-yard line. On 1st down Caleb Weaver intercepted an errant Rickie Collins pass to end Syracuse’s first possession.
Play Two: With three minutes and twelve seconds remaining in the 1st quarter, Nate Sheppard rambled 49-yards for his first touchdown of the game to give Duke a 10-3 lead. Sheppard broke through the line-of-scrimmage into the second level and dashed untouched to the end zone.
Play Three: Perhaps the biggest play of the game occurred with 12 minutes and 49 seconds remaining in the 2nd quarter. Syracuse quarterback Rickie Collins completed a 19-yard pass to Johntay Cook who fumbled while being tackled by multiple Blue Devils. Duke defensive back Jaiden Francois was flagged for Targeting but the call was overturned by replay so it was Duke’s ball. Freshman linebacker Bradley Gompers recovered the fumble. Three plays later Darian Mensah tossed a 34-yards touchdown pass to Cooper Barkate to increase Duke’s lead to 17-3.
Play Four: With two minutes and nine seconds left in the second quarter, on 3rd down and nine yards to go, Darian Mensah threw a swing pass to running back Anderson Castle who rambled for 17-yards and a 1st down to keep the drive alive. On the next play, Darian Mensah connected with Cooper Barkate for 12-yards touchdown and a 24-3 Duke lead.
Play Five: On 3rd down and six-yards to go, with six minutes and 17 seconds remaining in the 3rd quarter, Duke executed a wide receiver screen pass from Darian Mensah to Sahmir Hagans for 23-yards and a first down. Two plays later, Nate Sheppard ran 12-yards for his second touchdown and a 31-3 Duke lead.
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