Mensah Throws for 389; Duke Surges Past Elon, 45-17

Thursday, August 28

Durham, N.C.

7:30 p.m.

Duke University

Elon

Mensah Throws for 389; Duke Surges Past Elon, 45-17

8/28/2025 10:43:00 PM | Football

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes (PDF)Coach Diaz: Postgame Press Conference Cooper Barkate: Postgame Press Conference Aaron Hall: Postgame Press Conference Darian Mensah: Postgame Press Conference Photo Gallery

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke earned its fourth consecutive season-opening victory as the Blue Devils downed Elon 45-17 on Thursday night at Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium. The 45 points were the most in a season opener since the Blue Devils scored 60 in the first game of the 2017 campaign.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Darian Mensah made his Duke debut and led the offense by throwing for 389 yards and three touchdowns on 27-of-34 (79.4%). Graduate wide receiver Sahmir Hagans hauled in two touchdown passes while graduate Cooper Barkate posted 117 receiving yards in his Duke debut.

Redshirt sophomore Que'Sean Brown had an explosive night with six receptions for 93 yards and a 78-yard punt return to finish with 175 all-purpose yards, and the rushing duo of Jaquez Moore and Peyton Jones each added a rushing touchdown of their own to help propel the Duke offensive attack.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Duke's defense held strong through the first three drives, holding Elon to 11 yards on 11 plays behind 3.0 sacks and 2.0 additional tackles for loss.
Offensively, after a 45-yard missed field goal on the opening possession, Duke drove 72 yards and capitalized on its third drive to take a 3-0 lead with a Todd Pelino 41-yard field goal at 1:31 in the first quarter.
Elon answered on its ensuing drive with a 35-yard field goal of its own to knot the game at 3-3 with 9:50 to play in the opening half.
Immediately Duke responded and took a 10-3 advantage on its next drive with redshirt senior Jaquez Moore breaking a 32-yard touchdown run with 8:01 left in the second. A pair of explosive plays began the drive as freshman Nate Sheppard took his first snap for a 20-yard reception and graduate wide receiver Sahmir Hagans followed with a 21-yard grab of his own.
The Phoenix tied the game at 10-10 on the next possession with a 75-yard drive that resulted in a two-yard touchdown run from quarterback Landen Clark.
The Blue Devils scored on the opening drive of the third quarter with an 83-yard drive punctuated with a Hagans 15-yard TD grab to take a 17-10 advantage. Graduate Cooper Barkate crossed the 100-yard receiving plateau during the drive with grabs of 17, 46 and 10 yards. The 17-yard reception kept the drive alive on third-and-12 from the Duke 15-yard line.
Duke extended its lead to 24-10 on its ensuing drive as Mensah connected with wide receiver Andrel Anthony for a 27-yard score with 5:46 to play in the third.
Elon's Landyn Backey scored on a three-yard rush with 14:12 in the fourth to cut the Duke lead to 24-17.
Aided by an Anderson Castle 63-yard run that set Duke up at the eight-yard line, Hagans caught his second touchdown of the game on a six-yard strike from Mensah to push the lead to 31-17 with 11:28 to play.
Que'Sean Brown put the icing on the cake with a 78-yard punt return for a score with 9:18 remaining to make it a 38-17 Duke lead and Peyton Jones capped the scoring with a rushing score from five yards out in the final two minutes.