Duke wasted no time settling last year’s score with Tulane, and the Blue Devils did it with defense, patience and one overwhelming running back performance.
In a game that turned into the lowest-scoring FBS matchup of the young season, Duke beat Tulane 17-3 in Durham and handed the Green Wave a rough debut for new head coach Will Hall. Tulane, which entered the year trying to keep alive a run of four straight conference championship appearances, never reached the end zone and spent most of the afternoon fighting its own offense and the whistle.
The penalty count told part of the story. Tulane was flagged 15 times for 104 yards, the most by any FBS team in Week 1, and the Green Wave never even snapped the ball inside the Duke 19-yard line. Their best chance to change the game came on a 39-yard strike from Kadin Semonza to Destyn Hill that moved the ball to the Duke 17, but Hill was stripped by linebacker Luke Mergott as he entered the red zone.
Mergott, who came up with the game-winning interception for Duke in last December’s ACC Championship Game, was active again. He finished with six tackles and spent the afternoon creating pressure in the backfield.
Tulane’s quarterback situation never settled either. Hall named former Louisiana and Houston starter Zeon Chriss-Gremillion as QB1 before kickoff, but the Green Wave rotated between Chriss-Gremillion and Semonza while searching for answers. Chriss-Gremillion went 6-of-9 for 64 yards and added 15 yards on the ground, while Semonza completed 11 of 21 passes for 140 yards and absorbed more sacks.
The lack of continuity showed up everywhere else. Tulane only returned one starter on the offensive line, and the absence of starting running back Jamauri McClure, who missed the opener with a foot injury, made things even tougher.
The Green Wave finished with just 54 rushing yards on 2.1 yards per carry, and they punted seven times in their first 10 possessions, including four three-and-outs. Overall, Tulane managed 258 total yards but couldn’t turn any of it into touchdowns.
Duke, meanwhile, leaned hard on Nate Sheppard and never had to ask for much more. The reigning Second Team All-ACC selection ripped off 227 yards, the highest single-game total in the 2026 FBS season so far, and scored both Blue Devils touchdowns - once in the first quarter and again in the fourth.
Tulane did briefly make things interesting after finally getting on the board with 13:37 left, but even then the game stayed within one possession only for a short stretch. Duke answered the Green Wave’s fourth-quarter field goal with a 12-play, 75-yard march that chewed clock and kept feeding Sheppard until the result was secure.
For Tulane, there was at least one bright spot: the pass defense. After ranking 126th in passing yards allowed per game last season, the Green Wave held Walker Eget, a 3,000-yard passer, to 131 yards on 13-of-26 passing.
The loss doesn’t carry the same playoff weight that last year’s meeting did, especially with the CFP changing its selection format and no longer giving the ACC champion an automatic bid. Still, it was a sharp reminder that Tulane has work to do.
Duke moves to 1-0 and heads to Illinois for a road game against a team that has won 20 of 27. Tulane returns to New Orleans for its home opener, where it will debut its Mardi Gras uniforms.
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