Blue Devils Fall at Tulane

Saturday, September 13

New Orleans, La.

8 p.m.

Duke University

1-2 , 0-0

Tulane

3-0 , 0-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Duke

Tulane

Photo by: Duke Athletics

9/13/2025 11:00:00 PM | Football

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NEW ORLEANS, La. – Tulane quarterback Jake Retzlaff scored four rushing touchdowns to lead Tulane past Duke 34-27 Saturday at Yulman Stadium.

Duke (1-2) trailed by as much as 24-3 late in the opening half before cutting the deficit to 24-16 with 11:46 left in the third quarter. The Green Wave (3-0) answered with the game's next 10 points only to have Duke reply with the final 11, but Tulane recovered a Blue Devil onside kick attempt to seal the victory.

Blue Devil wide receiver Que'Sean Brown finished with a team-high 81 receiving yards. Wide receiver Sahmir Hagans and tight end Landen King caught touchdown passes for Duke. Freshman running back Nate Sheppard turned in the best game of his young career with 75 yards on just five carries and a receiving touchdown.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Tulane took a 7-0 lead on its opening drive with a Jake Retzlaff 19-yard scoring run.
The Green Wave increased its lead to 14-0 with another Retzlaff scoring scamper, this time from six yards out with 2:56 remaining in the first quarter.
Duke cut into its deficit with the first play of the second quarter on a 28-yard field goal from Todd Pelino.
Tulane pushed its lead to 21-3 with 5:33 left in the half on Retzlaff's third scoring run of the game and then to 24-3 on a 29-yard field goal at the 1:54 mark.
The Blue Devils scored a touchdown with 18 seconds left in the second quarter as Darian Mensah hit Sahmir Hagans for a 29-yard score.
Duke recovered its first turnover of the campaign to start the third quarter as Vincent Anthony Jr. forced a fumble and Nick Morris Jr. hopped on the loose ball. Tight end Landen King then scored his first touchdown as a Blue Devil on a three-yard pass from Mensah to make it a 24-16 contest in favor of Tulane.
The Green Wave answered with Retzlaff's fourth running touchdown of the night on a 11-yard blast to go up 31-16 with 6:31 remaining in the third.
A field goal by Tulane with 14:12 to play provided the Green Wave's final points.
Duke tacked on the final 11 points with a Nate Sheppard four-yard catch from Mensah and two-point conversion and a Pelino 47-yard field goal.
The Blue Devils' onside kick attempt was recovered by Tulane to run out the clock.