Takeaways From Duke's Stomping of Wake Forest

Duke finally got back to its "outscore everyone" mentality in a 49-32 victory over Wake Forest in the season finale.

The Blue Devils improved to 7-5 to finish the regular season. By defeating the Demon Deacons, Duke also won the state title for the second consecutive season by beating the other three North Carolina programs in the Tobacco Road series (Wake Forest, North Carolina, NC State).

Nov 29, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Manny Diaz looks on against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons during the fourth quarter at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

It's the first time Duke has won the state in back-to-back seasons since 1961 and 1962. Since Manny Diaz arrived in Durham, it's been a series he has dominated.

The Blue Devils started strong, scoring on their first two drives and never trailing in the game. The offenses dueled back and forth, but the Duke defense forced five turnovers and scored two touchdowns off of them, which turned out to be the difference.

Nov 29, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils punter Kade Reynoldson (41) celebrates with his teammates against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons during the fourth quarter at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

Duke's victory at the very least should improve the team's bowl placement, which will be determined after conference championship weekend next week. For now, the Blue Devils can cherish this victory, finalize the upcoming recruiting class and rest up before postseason play. Here are a few takeaways from Saturday's win.

Offense Found Balance & Efficiency

Nov 29, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils quarter back Darian Mensah (10) hands the ball to Duke Blue Devils running back Nate Sheppard (20) during the first quarter against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

The Blue Devils found hope in the running game last week against North Carolina, rushing for 177 yards and three scores. That continued, to an extent, this week against the Demon Deacons.

Duke ran for only 110 yards against Wake Forest, picking up 2.8 yards per carry. That's not great, but the Blue Devils were able to churn yards out in short-yardage situations and pound ahead at the goal line. Anderson Castle and Nate Sheppard both picked up two touchdowns in the win.

Nov 29, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils quarter back Darian Mensah (10) throws the ball under pressure from Wake Forest Demon Deacons defensive lineman Gabe Kirschke (10) during the first quarter at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

While the addition of a reliable running game has been nice, Darian Mensah finally had a game we are used to seeing from him. After a couple of down performances, Mensah completed 24-of-35 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. He also scrambled and scored his first rushing touchdown of the season.

With a third-quarter touchdown pass to Sahmir Hagans, Mensah set the Duke single-season touchdown passing record with his 27th touchdown pass of the season. He increased that total to 28 touchdowns with a scoring throw to Jeremiah Hasley in the waning seconds of the game.

The Record Breaker 👀

No one has thrown more passing touchdowns in a single season at Duke than Darian Mensah pic.twitter.com/e5009itM3N
— Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) November 30, 2025

Wake Forest has a strong pass defense, but Mensah returned to form and still ripped them apart, which is what Duke would like to see more of as the season comes to a close.

Senior Day Displays The Present And The Future

Nov 29, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils wide receiver Cooper Barkate (18) runs the ball against Wake Forest Demon Deacons defensive back Lardarius Webb Jr. (20) during the fourth quarter at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

Duke honored several seniors on Saturday for the final home game of the season in Durham, but one stood out above the rest. Wide receiver Cooper Barkate regained his midseason form with a big day through the air.

Barkate paced the Blue Devils' passing attack, hauling in eight of his 12 targets for 83 yards. Mensah made an effort again to get him the ball early on, making three catches on the opening drive alone.

The Harvard transfer had not crossed the 50-yard threshold in the past three games as the Duke passing game took a step back. His reemergence helped Duke control the pace of the game.

While Barkate is graduating, one guy who still has plenty of eligibility left is Nate Sheppard, and he showed up in a big way. He took 28 total touches for 135 total yards and two touchdowns.

Nov 29, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils running back Nate Sheppard (20) runs the ball against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons during the fourth quarter at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

Can't give Nate Sheppard that much space 😈 pic.twitter.com/Azdau3h2ar
— Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) November 29, 2025

Sheppard picked up some big yards on the ground to move the chains and made the most of his check-down opportunities in the passing game. As long as Sheppard stays in Durham, Duke should have a fearsome backfield for years to come.

Defense Picked Apart, But Turnovers Key

Nov 29, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils linebacker Luke Mergott (34) reacts after recovering a fumble against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons during the fourth quarter at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

Once again, Duke had a hard time stopping the opposing passing attack. Wake Forest quarterback Robby Ashford was primarily a running threat that Duke should be worried about. Instead, he looked like a seasoned gunslinger for the Demon Deacons.

Ashford completed 27-of-43 passes for a career-high 342 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. It was just the second time Ashford had ever thrown for more than 300 yards, the previous outing coming all the way back in 2022.

Nov 29, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons quarter back Robby Ashford (2) throws a pass during the first quarter against the Duke Blue Devils at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

Wake Forest marched up and down the field by picking on the secondary and forcing them to tackle in space. Wideout Sawyer Racanelli had seven catches for 123 yards and a touchdown.

However, Duke was able to force four turnovers in the game, which led to points for the offense to gain an upper hand in the shootout. Safety DaShawn Stone caught a tipped pass for an interception, and the Blue Devils responded with a touchdown drive.

Nov 29, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils linebacker Kendall Johnson (42) and Duke Blue Devils saftey DaShawn Stone (8) react during the third quarter against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

Wake Forest tailback Demond Claiborne had a pair of fumbles, one was a dropped pitch play, and the other via a punch-out from Duke cornerback Chandler Rivers. Ashford also had a fumble after being sacked by Ma'khi Jones. Linebacker Luke Mergott recovered two of the fumbles and defensive tackle David Anderson recovered another.

WOW!

An ELITE play from Chandler Rivers 👀 pic.twitter.com/gpAdc0tHGX
— Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) November 29, 2025

The 14 points off turnovers were huge for the Blue Devils to halt any momentum the Demon Deacons could build and provide a buffer for the offense. If the defense can continue to create takeaways, maybe that could offset the inability to get off the field.

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