Mensah shines in second half of Duke debut in 45-17 win over Elon

By Canadian Press on August 28, 2025.

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Darian Mensah threw three second-half touchdown passes in his Duke debut and the Blue Devils broke free from a halftime tie to defeat Elon 45-17 in Thursday night’s season opener.

Mensah, a transfer from Tulane, finished 27-for-34 for 389 yards, including 11-for-11 in the second half.

The Blue Devils posted the final 21 points after Elon closed within 24-17 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.

Elon’s Landen Clark, a redshirt freshman in his first collegiate start, gained 61 yards on the ground with a touchdown. He also threw for 101 yards.

Mensah connected on three passes to Cooper Barkate covering 73 yards on the first possession of the second half before hitting Sahmir Hagans for a 15-yard touchdown play.

Barkate, a transfer from Harvard, picked up 117 yards on five receptions. Hagans also caught a fourth-quarter touchdown pass.

The Blue Devils broke it open on Que’Sean Brown’s 78-yard punt return for a 38-17 edge.

The Takeaway

Elon: The Phoenix didn’t reach the end zone in last year’s 26-3 season-opening loss to the Blue Devils, avoiding that fate this time with Clark’s 2-yard run with 3:43 left in the first half.

Duke: Mensah became the first Duke quarterback in the past 15 years to throw for more than 300 yards in his Blue Devils debut. On defense, the Blue Devils notched 10 tackles for losses.

Up Next

Elon: Home Sept. 6 vs. Davidson

Duke: Home Sept. 6 vs. No. 12 Illinois

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Bob Sutton, The Associated Press