Retzlaff sets Tulane QB record with 4 rushing TDs, Green Wave move to 3-0 with 34-27 win over Duke

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Quarterback Jake Retzlaff rushed for four touchdowns and Tulane beat Duke 34-27 Saturday night.

Retzlaff, who joined Tulane’s program in late July from BYU, had scoring runs of 19 and 6 yards in the first quarter, 20 yards in the second quarter and 

11 yards in the third quarter, setting a program record for rushing TDs by a quarterback in a game.

Tulane (3-0) built a 24-3 lead by scoring on four of its first five possessions before Duke (1-2) rallied to within 24-16 early in the third quarter on a pair of touchdown passes by Darian Mensah.

The Green Wave answered with Retzlaff’s fourth touchdown run and a Patrick Durkin 27-yard field goal to extend the lead to 34-16.

Retzlaff finished with 245 yards passing and 111 rushing – his second 100-yard rushing game in three starts.

Duke scored twice in the final three minutes but failed on a pair of onside kicks.

The takeaway

Duke: The Blue Devils have lost consecutive games in September for the first time since 2020 and dropped consecutive nonconference games for the first time since 2010.

Tulane: The Green Wave is undefeated through three games for only the third time in the last 50 years. The other times Tulane opened with at least three consecutive wins in the last half-century, in 1998 and 2022, it went on to win 12 games and a conference title in each season.

Rude return

Darian Mensah was Tulane’s starting quarterback last season before transferring to Duke in January, and he got a rude welcome from the Green Wave student section and his former teammates.

Mensah, who had completed less than 60 percent of his passes only twice in 15 career starts, finished just below that mark, going 30 for 51 for 313 yards, his third straight 300-yard game. As a redshirt freshman in 2024 at Tulane, he passed for 2,723 yards and 22 touchdowns. In his first two games with the Blue Devils, he completed 73 percent of his passes for 723 yards and five scores.

Up next

Duke: The Blue Devils open Atlantic Coast Conference play at home against N.C. State next Saturday.

Tulane: The Green Wave’s nonconference gauntlet ends with a trip to No. 17 Ole Miss next Saturday.