Parker Waters
NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane football team (3-0), behind a four-touchdown rushing performance from quarterback Jake Retzlaff, held on for a thrilling 34-27 win over visiting Duke (1-2) in front of sellout, boisterous crowd on Saturday at Yulman Stadium.
Retzlaff accounted for 356 total yards and four rushing touchdowns in the game, the latter representing a school record for a quarterback. He was 15-for-23 for 245 yards through the air and ran 17 times for 111 yards. Arnold Barnes III had five carries for 27 yards and also caught a pass for 12. Javin Gordon totaled seven carries for 18 yards plus had a 15-yard reception. Shazz Preston hauled in three passes for 95 yards. Omari Hayes had four receptions for 69 yards. Bryce Bohanon totaled 25 yards on his two catches.
Dickson Agu led the defense with 10 tackles, 1.5 stops for loss and a pass breakup. Chris Rodgers totaled seven tackles. Jack Tchienchou picked up six tackles. Bailey Despanie had five tackles including a stop for loss. Javion White was steady with four tackles, a stop for loss, an interception and a pass breakup.
The special teams’ unit saw Alec Clark punt twice for 87 yards (43.3 yards per kick), Patrick Durkin go 2-for-2 on his field goal attempts and TJ Smith block a field goal attempt.
Tulane totaled 426 yards in the game with 156 on the ground and 270 through the air. The program also held a 33:17 to 26:43 advantage in time of possession plus picked up five tackles for loss, an interception and five pass breakups.
Darian Mensah, in his return to Yulman Stadium and the city of New Orleans after exiting in the off-season, was 30-for-51 for 313 yards and three touchdowns. Nearly half the yards he threw for in the game (145 yards) came in the final seven and half minutes of fourth quarter with Tulane up 18 points and willing to sacrifice yards in order to keep the game clock moving. He was intercepted once and was under constant pressure throughout.
Tulane, after a three-and-out for the defense, marched down the field and scored on the team’s opening possession on a 19-yard rush from Retzlaff to put the Green Wave up 7-0 at the 10:50 mark of the opening quarter.
The Green Wave, after a missed Duke field goal attempt, scored the squad’s second touchdown of the opening quarter as Retzlaff rushed it in from the six with 2:56 remaining in the opening quarter to increase the margin to 14-0.
Duke answered with a 26-yard field goal from Todd Pelino to put the score at 14-3 at the 14:56 mark of the second quarter.
Retzlaff completed another Tulane scoring drive with a 20-yard touchdown rush with 5:33 remaining in the half to increase the lead to 21-3.
Following a White interception, Tulane offense capitalized with a 26-yard field goal from Durkin to put the Green Wave lead at 24-3 with 1:52 remaining in the half.
Duke answered on the 29-yard touchdown pass from Mensah to Sahmir Hagans with 18 seconds remaining in the opening half to put the score at 24-9 after the failed two-point conversion.
The Blue Devils forced an early turnover to start the second half and promptly scored on the Mensah touchdown pass to Landen King to draw to within one score, 24-16, with 11:46 remaining in the third quarter.
Retzlaff answered on the next drive with his fourth rushing touchdown of the game as he took it in from 11-yards out to put the Green Wave up 31-16 with 6:35 left in the third quarter.
The Green Wave made it a 34-16 game on the 27-yard field goal from Patrick Durkin with 14:13 remaining in the game.
Duke drew to with to within two scores, 34-24, on a touchdown pass to Nate Sheppard followed by a two-point conversion by him as well at the 2:57 mark of the fourth quarter.
The Blue Devils kept fighting and made it a one-score game, 34-27, on the 47-yard field goal from Pelino with 1:06 remaining
Next, the football team gets on the road and takes on No. 17 Ole Miss at 2:30 p.m. at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss.
**TULANE PRESS RELEASE**
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