Darian Mensah set Duke’s single-season record with his 27th and 28th passing touchdowns and the Blue Devils went on to beat Wake Forest 49-32 to stay alive in the Atlantic Coast Conference title chase Saturday at Durham, N.C.
Anderson Castle and Nate Sheppard each ran for two touchdowns as the Blue Devils (7-5, 6-2 ACC) never trailed. Duke needs help in Saturday’s late games to reach next week’s ACC championship game.
Mensah was 24-for-35 for 268 yards, including a 30-yard TD strike to Sahmir Hagans in the third quarter for the school record. Earlier in the game, Mensah scrambled 4 yards for his first rushing touchdown of the season.
Wake Forest (8-4, 4-4) committed four turnovers without forcing any. Quarterback Robby Ashford threw for two touchdowns and 342 yards with an interception and ran for a touchdown and a 2-point conversion.
Duke broke away with the first two touchdowns of the second half, with Mensah throwing the scoring pass to Hagans and Castle plowing in from 2 yards out to take a 35-17 lead.
Ashford’s 10-yard run and ensuing two-point conversion run on the final snaps of the third quarter cut the deficit to 35-25.
Hagans returned the kickoff 80 yards to the Wake Forest 13 to begin the fourth quarter. Sheppard was in the end zone two plays later on a 13-yard run around the left end.
In the second quarter, Wake Forest’s fourth-down gamble from its 36 went awry when Duke’s Vincent Anthony Jr. tackled Ashford for a 2-yard loss with 4:02 to play in the half. The Blue Devils converted on Castle’s 1-yard run.
But the Demon Deacons responded, driving 75 yards in eight plays without a timeout – picking up a fourth-and-3 along the way — and scoring on Ashford’s 20-yard pass to Karate Brenson with 29 seconds left in the half.
Wake Forest was flagged for 58 yards worth of penalties — all on defense — in the first quarter. Both teams scored on their first two possessions.
Duke scored first-quarter touchdowns on Sheppard’s 5-yard run and Mensah’s 4-yard scramble, which came on the final play of the quarter for a 14-3 lead.
Wake Forest’s first points came on Connor Calvert’s 42-yard field goal. The Demon Deacons opened the second-quarter scoring when Ashford threw 22 yards to Sawyer Racanelli.
–Field Level Media
