EL PASO, TX – Duke quarterback Darian Mensah threw for 327 yards and four touchdowns, including the game-winner to Que'Sean Brown with 2:10 remaining, as the Blue Devils rallied past Arizona State 42-39 in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl on Wednesday afternoon.
The victory capped Duke's second consecutive nine-win season and gave the Blue Devils their ninth bowl championship in program history. More significantly, it marked Duke's first bowl victory over a Power Four opponent since defeating Indiana in the 2015 Pinstripe Bowl.
Mensah completed 29 of 51 passes and finished his historic season with 3,973 passing yards, breaking Anthony Dilweg's 37-year-old Duke single-season record of 3,824 yards set in 1988. His 34 touchdown passes also established a new program mark.
"Both teams gave it all, the back-and-forth, the momentum swings, and we got put in a position where it was all going against us in the fourth quarter," Duke head coach Manny Diaz said. "And like our guys have shown time and time again this season, when the easiest thing to do is to sit there and say, 'It's not our day', they just find a way to win and they make winning plays."
Arizona State quarterback Jeff Sims completed 27 of 38 passes for 375 yards and three touchdowns while adding 70 yards and two scores on the ground. But his final pass with 1:47 left was intercepted by Duke linebacker Luke Mergott, sealing the outcome.
The two teams combined for 1,158 yards of total offense in a game that featured 10 lead changes and just one punt in the first half. Duke (9-4) and Arizona State (8-5) set a Sun Bowl record with 52 combined first-half points, surpassing the previous mark of 51 set by UCLA and Northwestern in 2006.
Arizona State took the opening lead on a nine-play, 83-yard drive capped by a four-yard Sims touchdown run at 10:11 of the first quarter. Duke answered just 78 seconds later when Mensah connected with Brown on a 69-yard touchdown pass, the second-longest scoring strike in Duke bowl history.
After Duke forced a turnover on downs, the Blue Devils needed just 43 seconds to regain the lead. Brown hauled in a 46-yard reception to set up a three-yard touchdown catch by Cooper Barkate, giving Duke a 14-7 advantage with 6:43 left in the opening quarter.
Arizona State responded immediately with a five-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Sims finding Jalen Moss for a 44-yard touchdown to tie the game at 14-14.
The second quarter belonged mostly to Duke's offense, though both defenses managed brief stops. The Blue Devils regained the lead on a 12-play, 60-yard drive that consumed 5:22 and ended with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Mensah to tight end Jeremiah Hasley. The drive included a crucial fourth-and-one conversion by running back Anderson Castle, who gained four yards to keep Duke moving.
Sims answered with a 38-yard touchdown run with 3:49 remaining in the half to tie the game at 21-21, but Duke countered with Castle's three-yard touchdown rush to go back ahead 28-21 with 1:50 left. Arizona State managed to kick a 54-yard field goal by Jesus Gomez with 32 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 28-24 at halftime.
Duke extended its lead to 35-24 on the opening possession of the third quarter when running back Nate Sheppard capped a seven-play, 64-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run. The Blue Devils had forced an Arizona State fumble on the opening kickoff of the half, though they were unable to capitalize on the turnover.
Arizona State responded with consecutive scoring drives to retake the lead. Sims threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Khamari Anderson and ran in the two-point conversion to make it 35-32. Then, early in the fourth quarter, Sims connected with Malik McClain on a six-yard touchdown pass to give the Sun Devils their first lead since the opening quarter at 39-35 with 12:31 remaining.
Duke's offense drove into Arizona State territory but faced a fourth-and-seven from the Sun Devil 37-yard line. Mensah's pass fell incomplete, giving Arizona State possession with 9:07 left. The Sun Devils managed one first down but punted back to Duke with 5:59 remaining.
The Blue Devils drove to the Arizona State six-yard line, but a fumbled snap on second down pushed them back to the eight. Two incomplete passes set up fourth-and-goal from the eight with 2:51 left. Mensah's pass to Barkate in the end zone was broken up by Arizona State defensive back Nyland Green, seemingly ending Duke's chances.
But on the first play of the ensuing Arizona State possession, running back Demarius Robinson fumbled after a 14-yard gain. Duke linebacker Ma'khi Jones recovered at the Arizona State 22-yard line, giving the Blue Devils new life with 2:42 remaining.
Two plays later, Mensah found Brown for a 17-yard touchdown pass. Brown caught the ball at the line of scrimmage and raced past one defender into the end zone to give Duke a 42-39 lead with 2:10 left.
"I looked at Darian and I saw one-on-one to the field. And we do that the first day of practice, one-on-one tackling. And I know if it's me and somebody in front of me, nobody's stopping me from getting into the end zone," Brown said.
Arizona State had one final possession, but Mergott intercepted Sims at the Arizona State 41-yard line with 1:47 remaining. Duke converted two fourth downs on its final possession to run out the clock in victory formation.
Brown finished with a career-high 178 yards on 10 receptions, including 115 yards in the first quarter alone. His 178 yards were the second most in a Duke bowl game. Barkate caught four passes for 37 yards and a touchdown, finishing the season with 1,106 receiving yards, the third-most in a single season in program history.
Sheppard rushed for 170 yards on 22 carries to finish the season with 1,132 rushing yards, making him the first Duke running back to reach 1,000 yards since Mataeo Durant rushed for 1,241 in 2021. Sheppard's total ranks sixth in Duke single-season history and set a new freshman record.
Hasley caught six passes for 50 yards and a touchdown, giving him six receiving touchdowns on the season.
For Arizona State, Moss caught five passes for 129 yards and a touchdown, while McClain led the Sun Devils with nine receptions for 63 yards and a touchdown. Running back Jason Brown Jr. rushed for 120 yards on 12 carries, and Robinson added 56 rushing yards and 91 receiving yards.
Duke finished the season with 5,929 yards of total offense, the second most in program history, and scored 484 points, a new program record. The Blue Devils also became the first Power Four program along with Ohio State, Rutgers and Tennessee to have a 3,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher and a 1,000-yard receiver in the same season.
The victory was Diaz's second bowl win as Duke's head coach and improved his overall record to 18-9 in 27 games. His winning percentage of .667 ranks third among Duke head coaches through 27 games, trailing only Wallace Wade and Bill Murray.
Duke's four-game winning streak to end the season matched its longest to close a campaign since 1954, when the Blue Devils won the Orange Bowl. The program also finished with a winning record for the fourth consecutive season, the first time Duke has accomplished that feat since 1960-63.
KEY STATISTICS
- Darian Mensah: 29-51, 327 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT; 4 rushes, 21 yards
- Que'Sean Brown: 10 receptions, 178 yards, 2 TD
- Nate Sheppard: 22 rushes, 170 yards, 1 TD
- Jeff Sims: 27-38, 375 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT; 7 rushes, 70 yards, 2 TD
- Jason Brown Jr.: 12 rushes, 120 yards
- Jalen Moss: 5 receptions, 129 yards, 1 TD
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