Duke Offense Erupts in 45-21 Victory at California

Saturday, October 4

Berkeley, Calif.

10:30 p.m.

Duke University

4-2 , 3-0

Cal

4-2 , 1-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Duke

California

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Duke Offense Erupts in 45-21 Victory at California

10/5/2025 2:14:00 AM | Football

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BERKELEY, Calif. – Trailing by 14 with less than eight minutes to play in the opening half, Duke used a 24-point outburst before halftime to take a lead it would not relinquish in topping Cal, 45-21, on Saturday night at California Memorial Stadium.

Trailing 21-7, the Blue Devils calmly marched down the field on their final four drives of the half with three touchdowns and a field goal to take control. Spanning the final 37:47 of action, Duke scored the game's final 38 points to bring home the conference victory.

Duke (4-2, 3-0 ACC) has now won six consecutive ACC games, four straight road league tilts and is +11 in turnover margin in ACC contests this season. With the win, the Blue Devils moved to 3-0 in ACC play for the first time since 2015 and just the sixth time since 1963.

Que'Sean Brown turned in a career-high 104 yards and a touchdown while the running back duo of Anderson Castle and Nate Sheppard each rushed for two touchdowns. Defensively, a pair of Duke freshmen proved to be sparks as Elliott Schaper tied the Blue Devil rookie record with two sacks, while adding an interception and a team-high 12 total tackles, and his classmate Andrew Pellicciotta picked off his first career pass. Defensive end Wesley Williams added a career-high 3.5 tackles for loss and his nine total tackles set a new personal best. Chandler Rivers and Moussa Kane joined the takeaway efforts, each logging an interception of their own. After surrendering 210 yards and 21 points on Cal's first three drives, Duke yielded 77 yards, intercepted four passes and shut out the Golden Bears for the remainder of the game.

As a unit, Duke's defense tallied six sacks, the most allowed by California in a game this season. Schaper's two sacks led the charge, and he was joined by Williams (1.5 sacks), Vincent Anthony Jr. (1.5) and Aaron Hall (1.0).

HOW IT HAPPENED

Cal (4-2, 1-1 ACC) marched down the field on its opening drive and scored on a six-yard touchdown pass from Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele to Jordan King at the 9:11 mark to take a 7-0 lead.
The Golden Bears made it a 14-0 advantage on a five-yard scoring rush by Kendrick Raphael.
Duke answered on its ensuing drive with a 12-yard Nate Sheppard touchdown run around the end with 2:38 to play in the opening quarter.
Cal regained the 14-point advantage with a Raphael four-yard score to open the second quarter for a 21-7 lead at the 12:17 mark.
Again, the Blue Devils had a reply as Anderson Castle pushed in from two yards out to make it 21-14 with 7:47 to play in the opening half. The drive was kickstarted by Sahmir Hagans' 39-yard kickoff return, setting up Duke with great field position.
Duke's defense halted the following Golden Bear drive by intercepting a pass for the third consecutive game as freshman Andrew Pellicciotta nabbed his first career pick. The Blue Devils then evened the game at 21 with a three-play drive aided by a Landen King 33-yard catch and Que'Sean Brown 26-yard scoring pass from Darian Mensah.
The Blue Devils forced consecutive three and outs and piled on 10 more points before intermission to take a 31-21 advantage at the break. Brown hauled in a 26-yard TD pass from Mensah and Todd Pelino converted a 25-yard field goal as time expired.
Following the offensive explosion in the first half, the two played to a scoreless third quarter.
Cooper Barkate reeled in a 10-yard touchdown reception to break the scoring drought for the Blue Devils, at the 8:22 mark of the fourth quarter. Sheppard reeled off a 46-yard touchdown rush with 5:50 remaining to cap Duke's dominant 45-21 victory.
Duke's defense tallied two more interceptions in the final frame, courtesy of Elliott Schaper and Moussa Kane, moving the unit's turnover margin to +11 in ACC games this season.