Saturday night’s premier party in New Orleans wasn’t on Bourbon Street, nor Frenchman Street.
Yulman Stadium served as the host, welcoming a full house of 30,000 guests to watch their beloved team pitted against quarterback they once called their own. After a successful 2024 campaign as Tulane’s starter, quarterback Darian Mensah transferred to Duke in December. But his days of suiting up at Yulman Stadium weren’t finished.
However, the star of the show was none other than Mensah’s successor. After
spending an entire offseason cycling through transfer additions in effort to replace the quarterback, Tulane decided on BYU transfer Jake Retzlaff and Retzlaff reveled under the bright lights in the Big Easy. The quarterback rushed for a game-high 111 yards and all four Green Wave touchdowns, leading Tulane past Duke in 34-27 fashion.
Although the scoreboard displayed just a 7-point margin at the finish, Tulane’s journey to the finish line featured more comfort, leading by double-digits for the majority of the ballgame. Retzlaff’s two first quarter touchdown scampers sparked a 14-0 lead. After a short Duke field goal to open the second frame, the mobile quarterback added another score. Tulane built a first half lead as great as 24-3 before Duke’s offense finally woke up.
In a sight many of the 30,000 fans at Yulman previously witnessed, Mensah started completing passes to the end zone. He found Shamhir Hagans on a 29-yard strike with 18 seconds remaining in the first half and then connected with tight end Landen King in the early third quarter to slice the 21-point deficit to five. However, Tulane refused to provide Mensah a chance to capture the lead as Retzlaff guided the troops 75 yards down the field in 11 plays, evading a shoestring tackle en route to an 11-yard touchdown scramble — his fourth and final of the game.
Kicker Patrick Durkin sunk a field goal in the first minute of the final stanza, and that would be all the points Tulane needed Saturday night. Duke went on an 11-point scoring barrage in the final two minutes of action, but an unsuccessful onside kick allowed Tulane to cling onto the victory. After watching Tulane cement the victory in an electrifying atmosphere, the students hopped over the gate and congregated to midfield en masse — marking the first field storm at Yulman Stadium since the 2022 American Conference Championship Game.
Mensah’s performance was a subject of interest for many of those field rushers throughout the night. The former Tulane quarterback entered the contest second in the FBS in passing yards per game. He uncorked the ball quite often completing 30-of-51 attempts, and he fired for 313 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception in his seventh start at the venue.
The interception proved vital as Tulane produced three points from it, and the recipient was the usual suspect. Javion White established his ballhawking tendencies in the opener with two interceptions at Northwestern. Although it doesn’t count in the stat sheet, he also intercepted South Alabama’s tying two-point attempt last Saturday to seal a 33-31 victory. White’s playmaking arrived once again as he picked off his third pass at home this year while also collecting four tackles and one pass deflection.
Another key contributor in the Green Wave win was Retzlaff the passer. In addition to his second 100-yard rushing performance of the young season (responsible for 71 percent of Tulane’s rushing yards), the quarterback showcased his arm talent with 245 yards on a 15-of-23 showing. He connected four times for 69 yards with Omari Hayes and added three completions to 95 yards to Shazz Preston. He also served as a decoy when Tulane brought in backup Brendan Sullivan at quarterback — a package which worked quite well, notably on a 14-yard shovel pass from Retzlaf to Bryce Bohanon to set up Tulane’s second touchdown.
Duke dropped to 1-2 after a second-consecutive road defeat, snapping a three-game series win streak against the Green Wave. Meanwhile, Tulane improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2022 — the same season which featured a conference championship, a Cotton Bowl victory, and an AP Top 10 finish. Tulane hopes the same type of season materializes under head coach Jon Sumrall but next week provides the team’s greatest test to date. The 3-0 Green Wave travel to The Grove to challenge 3-0 Ole Miss to round out their non-conference slate.
