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When Duke played at Tulane last season, teh hype was all about quarterback Darian Mensah.
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Mensah had transferred to Duke from Tulane after the 2024 football season. Three games into the 2025 season, he went back to New Orleans and Yulman Stadium with the Blue Devils.
He was promptly booed. And beaten.
The Green Wave took a 34-27 victory that enhanced Tulane’s resume for the season helped earn the Wave a spot in the College Football Playoff.
A year later, Duke and Tulane will go at it again, this time in the 2026 season opener, matching the 2025 ACC champions against the American Conference champions at Wallace Wade Stadium.
“What a great way to test ourselves in the opener,” Duke coach Manny Diaz said Monday. “Obviously (it’s) a program that got after us a year ago. They’re used to winning.
“But it changes year to year. You look at the people who played last year and so much personnel is different on both sides. Early season, it’s just about trying to get the pieces together and trying to present the best version of yourself.”
Mensah is gone, transferring to Miami. Tulane coach Jon Sumrall is gone, leaving the Green Wave after last season to take over at Florida. Sumrall also took several former assistant coaches with him, including offensive coordinator Joe Craddock.
But there was not a complete coaching makeover at Tulane. Will Hall was promoted to head coach after serving as Sumrall’s passing game coordinator. He retained a number of defensive coaches, including Tayler Polk, who was co-defensive coordinator under Sumrall and has taken over as the Green Wave’s defensive boss on Hall’s staff.
The Blue Devils got through preseason with just one significant injury — offensive lineman Roman Fina, a redshirt freshman, is out for the season with a lower-body injury, Diaz said Monday.
With Mensah leaving, the offense has been turned over to quarterback Walker Eget, the graduate transfer from San Jose State who was a late pickup from the portal. He had knee surgery after last season, but has shown good mobility in fall camp.
Offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer said Monday that he was flooded with San Jose State game film of Eget and San Jose State when the Devils first took serious interest in the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Californian.
What did Brewer see on tape?
“Well, they threw it about every snap,” he said, smiling. “So he’s able to handle the rush, he’s able to navigate, he’s able to improvise and make plays. I saw a guy who can put the ball in some accurate places when he’s under duress. I said, ‘I think this guy is about to blossom into a big-time deal.’”
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The Devils won’t throw it on every snap. Not with sophomore running back Nate Sheppard coming off an 1,100-yard, 11-TD rushing season and returning a bigger, stronger version of himself.
‘He has increased his muscle mass, his speed,” Brewer said. “He looks like a Power 4 running back.”
Sheppard, listed at 5-10 and 205 pounds, often is the first guy on the field for practice, Brewer said, adding, “There’s an urgency. You can feel that.”
The Blue Devils will have a new corps of wide receivers with last year’s fly-boys — Cooper Barkate, Sahmir Hagans, Que’Sean Brown — all having left. But Brewer mentioned Jayden Moore, Jonah Burton, Kavon Simmons and Jaivon Solomon among those having a productive fall camp.
“We’ve got some guys ready to take off,” Brewer said. “We’re probably deeper than we’ve ever been at receiver. It’s just now the lights are about to come on. Let’s see what happens.”
Duke’s defense was gashed last year by the runs of Tulane quarterback Jake Retzlaff, who had four rushing touchdowns. With Getzlaff gone, the Green Wave plan to start Zeon Chriss-Gremillion, a senior transfer, at quarterback in the opener.
Chriss-Gremillion was a part-time starter the past two seasons at Houston and like Retzlaff is a big guy (6-3, 220) who can be a running threat.
“The guy last year really hurt us and part of it was our own undoing with our mistakes,” Duke defensive coordinator Jonathan Patke said Monday. ”We need to be precise in how we attack a quarterback that can beat us with his feet.”
Safety Jack Tchienchou again will be the Wave’s defensive leader. The redshirt junior, a transfer from Troy, was named first-team All-American Conference last season after a team-high 83 tackles and was the most outstanding player in the league’s championship game.
The Green Wave was 11-3 last season, losing to Ole Miss in their first CFP appearance. The Blue Devils have two nine-win seasons, an ACC title, a Sun Bowl victory and 11-5 ACC record in Diaz’s first two years in Durham.
It’s time for the lights to come on.
Most of the oddsmakers have the Blue Devils as 7.5-point favorites in the opener. The FanDuel moneyline has Duke at -310 and Tulane at +245. The over/under is set at 51.5.
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Duke Blue Devils vs Tulane Green Wave
When: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
Where: Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium, Durham.
TV/streaming: ACC Network; streaming options include Fubo and ESPN app.