The 2025 Duke Blue Devils football team represented Duke University during the 2025 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The Blue Devils were led by head coach Manny Diaz, coaching his second year as the Blue Devils head coach, and played their home games at Wallace Wade Stadium located in Durham, North Carolina.
Despite finishing the regular season with a 7–5 record, Duke finished first in a five-way tie for second place in the ACC with a 6–2 conference record. This included a 3–0 record against their Tobacco Road rivals, thus winning the North Carolina state championship and The Battle for the Old State Trophy for the second year in a row. Their season earned them a spot in the ACC championship game, where they upset the Virginia Cavaliers in overtime and won their first ACC title since 1989 and their first outright ACC title since 1962. Furthermore, this was Duke's first victory in the ACC championship game since the game's inception. They then participated in the Sun Bowl, where they beat the Arizona State Sun Devils in a high-scoring shootout to finish 9–5 on the season.
Transfers Outgoing Name Pos. Height Weight Hometown New School Maalik Murphy QB 6'5" 232 lbs Inglewood, CA Oregon State Grayson Loftis QB 6'2" 205 lbs Gaffney, SC Charlotte Carter Wyatt LB 6'1" 233 lbs Wilmington, NC Elon Casey Donahue LS 6'4" 210 lbs Durham, NC TBA Montreze Smith LB 5'11" 195 lbs Carrollton, GA Western KentuckyStar ThomasRB6'0''210 lbsHomer, LATennesseeRent MontieQB6'3''210 lbsPalm Harbor, FLTBAPlacide Djungu-SunguS6'1''195 lbsArlington, TXBaylorMarquise CollinsRB5'9"210 lbsCollege Station, TXUABZachary FranksIOL6'6"310 lbsBaltimore, MDUMassJames PogorelcOT6'8"300 lbsChantilly, VAJames MadisonAl Wooten IIRB6'0"225 lbsMemphis, TNTowsonSpencer JonesWR6'4"205 lbsOlney, MDCampbellQuran BoydRB5'10"190 lbsVirginia Beach, VATBARyan LeavyP6'0"170 lbsTampa, FLEast Carolina
Incoming Name Pos. Height Weight Hometown Previous School Darian Mensah QB 6'3" 215 lbs New Orleans, LA Tulane Anderson Castle RB 6'0'' 220 lbs Boone, NC Appalachian State Jaiden Francois CB 5'10'' 195 lbs Homestead, FL Utah State Cooper Barkate WR 6'1" 195 lbs Santa Ana, CA Harvard Andrel Anthony WR 6'2" 185 lbs East Lansing, MI Oklahoma Josiah Green DL 6'1" 280 lbs Indianapolis, IN Dartmouth Caleb Weaver S 5'9" 170 lbs Charlotte, NC Sam Houston State Landen King TE 6'5" 232 lbs Humble, TX Utah Jordan Larsen IOL 6'3" 310 lbs Harrisburg, SD South Dakota
Schedule
Rankings
Roster
Game summaries Elon (FCS)
Statistics ELONDUKE First downs 14 23 Plays–yards 62–275 59–548 Rushes–yards 44–163 25–159 Passing yards 112 389 Passing: comp–att–int 11/18/0 27/34/0 Turnovers 0 1 Time of possession 32:53 27:07 Team Category Player Statistics Elon Passing Landen Clark 10/16, 101 yards Rushing Landen Clark 18 carries, 61 yards, 1 TD Receiving Dylan Magazu 3 receptions, 61 yards Duke Passing Darian Mensah 27/34, 389 yards, 3 TD Rushing Anderson Castle 3 carries, 69 yards Receiving Cooper Barkate 5 receptions, 117 yards
No. 11 Illinois
Statistics ILLDUKE First downs 25 21 Plays–yards 73–419 63–438 Rushes–yards 42–123 24–82 Passing yards 296 356 Passing: –– 22–31–0 25–39–1 Turnovers 0 5 Time of possession 36:12 23:48 Team Category Player Statistics Illinois Passing Luke Altmyer 22/31, 296 yards, 3 TD Rushing Kaden Feagin 17 carries, 48 yards, TD Receiving Hank Beatty 8 receptions, 128 yards Duke Passing Darian Mensah 23/24, 234 yards, 2 TD, INT Rushing Jaquez Moore 6 carries, 30 yards Receiving Cooper Barkate 4 receptions, 88 yards
at Tulane
Statistics DUKETUL First downs 27 22 Plays–yards 75–452 63–426 Rushes–yards 24–139 38–156 Passing yards 313 270 Passing: comp–att–int 30–51–1 17–25–0 Turnovers 1 1 Time of possession 26:43 33:17 Team Category Player Statistics Duke Passing Darian Mensah 30/51, 313 yards, 3 TD, INT Rushing Nate Sheppard 5 carries, 75 yards Receiving Que'Sean Brown 6 receptions, 81 yards Tulane Passing Jake Retzlaff 15/23, 245 yards Rushing Jake Retzlaff 17 carries, 111 yards, 4 TD Receiving Shazz Preston 3 receptions, 95 yards
NC State (Tobacco Road)
Statistics NCSUDUKE First downs 26 22 Plays–yards 73–537 62–419 Rushes–yards 34–173 34–150 Passing yards 364 269 Passing: comp–att–int 29–39–3 19–28–0 Turnovers 4 0 Time of possession 32:29 27:31 Team Category Player Statistics NC State Passing CJ Bailey 29/39, 364 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT Rushing Hollywood Smothers 17 carries, 123 yards, TD Receiving Terrell Anderson 6 receptions, 166 yards, 2 TD Duke Passing Darian Mensah 19/28, 269 yards, 3 TD Rushing Anderson Castle 12 carries, 92 yards, 3 TD Receiving Cooper Barkate 3 reception, 65 yards, TD
at Syracuse
Statistics DUKESYR First downs 23 19 Plays–yards 59-503 51-314 Rushes–yards 37-235 27-85 Passing yards 268 229 Passing: comp–att–int 22-28-0 24-37-1 Turnovers 0 3 Time of possession 31:15 28:45 Team Category Player Statistics Duke Passing Darian Mensah 22/28, 268 yards, 2 TD Rushing Nate Sheppard 15 carries, 168 yards, 2 TD Receiving Cooper Barkate 4 receptions, 72 yards, 2 TD Syracuse Passing Rickie Collins 24/37, 229 yards, INT Rushing Yasin Willis 11 carries, 63 yards Receiving Johntay Cook 6 receptions, 74 yards
at California
Statistics DUKECAL First downs 24 20 Plays–yards 445 286 Rushes–yards 36-180 29-41 Passing yards 265 245 Passing: comp–att–int 22-30-0 20-32-4 Turnovers 0 4 Time of possession 31:03 28:57 Team Category Player Statistics Duke Passing Darian Mensah 22/30, 265 yards, 2 TD Rushing Nate Sheppard 12 carries, 91 yards, 2 TD Receiving Que'Sean Brown 7 receptions, 108 yards, TD California Passing Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele 20/31, 245 yards, TD, 3 INT Rushing Kendrick Raphael 18 carries, 67 yards, 2 TD Receiving Mason Mini 3 receptions, 56 yards
No. 12 Georgia Tech
Statistics GTDUKE First downs 21 26 Plays–yards 57-376 76-441 Rushes–yards 36-171 32-68 Passing yards 205 373 Passing: comp–att–int 14-21-0 32-44-0 Turnovers 0 1 Time of possession 26:31 33:29 Team Category Player Statistics Georgia Tech Passing Haynes King14/21, 205 yards Rushing14 carries, 120 yards, TD Receiving Isiah Canion3 receptions, 56 yards Duke Passing Darian Mensah 32/44, 373 yards, 2 TD Rushing Nate Sheppard 15 carries, 50 yards Receiving Cooper Barkate 13 receptions, 172 yards
at Clemson
Statistics DUKECLEM First downs 22 28 Plays–yards 64–439 72–560 Rushes–yards 22–78 36–175 Passing yards 361 385 Passing: comp–att–int 27–42–0 27–36–0 Turnovers 0 0 Time of possession 25:35 34:26 Team Category Player Statistics Duke Passing Darian Mensah 27/41, 361 yards, 4 TD Rushing Nate Sheppard 13 carries, 60 yards, TD Receiving Cooper Barkate 6 receptions, 127 yards, TD Clemson Passing Cade Klubnik 27/36, 385 yards, 2 TD Rushing Adam Randall 16 carries, 89 yards, 2 TD Receiving Antonio Williams 10 receptions, 142 yards, TD
at UConn
Statistics DUKEUCONN First downs 26 25 Plays–yards 65–390 70–467 Rushes–yards 34–168 30–156 Passing yards 222 311 Passing: comp–att–int 22–31–2 27–40–0 Turnovers 3 0 Time of possession 26:47 33:13 Team Category Player Statistics Duke Passing Darian Mensah 22/31, 222 yards, 3 TD Rushing Nate Sheppard 16 carries, 100 yards, 2 TD Receiving Que'sean Brown 5 receptions, 61 yards UConn Passing Joe Fagnano 27/39, 311 yards, 3 TD Rushing Joe Fagnano 6 carries, 51 yards Receiving Reymello Murphy 5 receptions, 110 yards
No. 19 Virginia
Statistics UVADUKE First downs 22 11 Plays–yards 77–540 58–255 Rushes–yards 42–224 23–42 Passing yards 316 213 Passing: comp–att–int 23–35–2 18–35–0 Turnovers 2 1 Time of possession 35:58 24:02 Team Category Player Statistics Virginia Passing Chandler Morris 23/35, 316 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT Rushing J'Mari Taylor 18 carries, 133 yards, 2 TD Receiving Trell Harris 8 receptions, 161 yards, TD Duke Passing Darian Mensah 18/35, 213 yards, TD Rushing Nate Sheppard 12 carries, 43 yards Receiving Landen King 2 receptions, 48 yards
at North Carolina (Victory Bell)
Statistics DUKEUNC First downs 24 18 Plays–yards 76–352 52–305 Rushes–yards 43–177 25–101 Passing yards 175 204 Passing: comp–att–int 20–33–0 21–27–0 Turnovers 0 0 Time of possession 36:00 24:00 Team Category Player Statistics Duke Passing Darian Mensah 20/33, 175 yards, TD Rushing Nate Sheppard 22 carries, 90 yards Receiving Jeremiah Hasley 7 receptions, 85 yards, TD North Carolina Passing Gio Lopez 21/27, 204 yards, TD Rushing Davion Gause 8 carries, 63 yards, TD Receiving Jordan Shipp 8 receptions, 83 yards, TD
Wake Forest (rivalry)
Statistics WAKEDUKE First downs 27 24 Plays–yards 75–468 74–378 Rushes–yards 32–126 39–110 Passing yards 342 268 Passing: comp–att–int 27–43–1 24–35–0 Turnovers 4 0 Time of possession 25:21 34:39 Team Category Player Statistics Wake Forest Passing Robby Ashford 27/43, 342 yards, 2 TD, INT Rushing Demond Claiborne 13 carries, 58 yards Receiving Sawyer Racanelli 7 receptions, 123 yards, TD Duke Passing Darian Mensah 24/35, 268 yards, 2 TD Rushing Nate Sheppard 23 carries, 75 yards, 2 TD Receiving Cooper Barkate 8 receptions, 83 yards
vs. No. 17 Virginia (ACC Championship Game)
Statistics DUKEUVA First downs 19 25 Plays–yards 69–333 69–344 Rushes–yards 44–137 29–128 Passing yards 196 216 Passing: comp–att–int 19–25–1 21–40–2 Turnovers 1 2 Time of possession 34:24 25:36 Team Category Player Statistics Duke Passing Darian Mensah 19/25, 196 yards, 2 TD, INT Rushing Nate Sheppard 21 rushes, 97 yards, TD Receiving Cooper Barkate 5 receptions, 91 yards Virginia Passing Chandler Morris 21/40, 216 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT Rushing Harrison Waylee 11 rushes, 66 yards Receiving Cam Ross 5 receptions, 59 yards
vs. Arizona State (Sun Bowl)
Statistics ASUDUKE First downs 22 24 Plays–yards 75–619 87–539 Rushes–yards 37–244 36–212 Passing yards 375 327 Passing: comp–att–int 27–38–1 29–51–1 Turnovers 3 1 Time of possession 26:33 33:07 Team Category Player Statistics Arizona State Passing Jeff Sims 27/38, 375 yards, 3 TD, INT Rushing Jason Brown Jr. 13 carries, 134 yards Receiving Jalen Moss 5 receptions, 129 yards, TD Duke Passing Darian Mensah 29/51, 327 yards, 4 TD, INT Rushing Nate Sheppard 22 carries, 170 yards, TD Receiving Que'Sean Brown 10 receptions, 178 yards, 2 TD
References