Duke’s 2026 opener brings Tulane back to Durham, but the matchup looks a lot different from the one that played out in New Orleans last season.
Back then, the conversation centered on Darian Mensah, the quarterback who had left Tulane for Duke after the 2024 season. When he returned to Yulman Stadium three games into the 2025 campaign, the reception was rough. He was booed, and Tulane finished the night with a 34-27 win that boosted the Green Wave’s case for the season and helped push them into the College Football Playoff.
Now the Blue Devils and Green Wave meet again, this time at Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium in the 2026 season opener. It’s a showdown between the 2025 ACC champions and the American Conference champions, and Duke coach Manny Diaz said Monday it’s exactly the kind of test he wants right away.
“What a great way to test ourselves in the opener,” Duke coach Manny Diaz said Monday. “Obviously (it’s) a program that got after us a year ago. They’re used to winning.
“But it changes year to year. You look at the people who played last year and so much personnel is different on both sides. Early season, it’s just about trying to get the pieces together and trying to present the best version of yourself.”
That turnover is real on both sidelines. Mensah is now at Miami. Tulane coach Jon Sumrall is gone too, after leaving for Florida, and several assistant coaches followed him, including offensive coordinator Joe Craddock.
Tulane didn’t start over completely, though. Will Hall moved up to head coach after serving as Sumrall’s passing game coordinator, and he kept several defensive assistants. Tayler Polk, who had been co-defensive coordinator, is now the Green Wave’s defensive leader.
Duke, meanwhile, came out of preseason with one major injury concern. Roman Fina, a redshirt freshman offensive lineman, is out for the season with a lower-body injury, Diaz said Monday.
At quarterback, the Blue Devils are handing things to Walker Eget, the graduate transfer from San Jose State who arrived late through the portal. He had knee surgery after last season, but Diaz said he has shown good mobility in camp.
Jonathan Brewer, Duke’s offensive coordinator, said Monday that once the Blue Devils began digging into Eget, the film made an impression.
What did Brewer see on tape?
“Well, they threw it about every snap,” he said, smiling. “So he’s able to handle the rush, he’s able to navigate, he’s able to improvise and make plays.
I saw a guy who can put the ball in some accurate places when he’s under duress. I said, ‘I think this guy is about to blossom into a big-time deal.’”
Duke won’t be built around the pass alone. Sophomore running back Nate Sheppard is back after an 1,100-yard, 11-touchdown season, and Brewer said the back has come back bigger and stronger.
‘He has increased his muscle mass, his speed,” Brewer said. “He looks like a Power 4 running back.”
Sheppard, listed at 5-10 and 205 pounds, has also stood out for the way he works, with Brewer noting that he’s often the first player on the field for practice.
“There’s an urgency. You can feel that.”
The receiver room is also getting a fresh look. Cooper Barkate, Sahmir Hagans and Que’Sean Brown are gone, but Brewer pointed to Jayden Moore, Jonah Burton, Kavon Simmons and Jaivon Solomon as players who have put together productive camps.
“We’ve got some guys ready to take off,” Brewer said. “We’re probably deeper than we’ve ever been at receiver.
It’s just now the lights are about to come on. Let’s see what happens.”
Tulane’s offense will have a new face at quarterback as well. Duke was run over last season by Jake Retzlaff, who scored four rushing touchdowns against the Blue Devils, but he’s gone now. The Green Wave are expected to start Zeon Chriss-Gremillion, a senior transfer, in the opener.
Chriss-Gremillion spent the last two seasons as a part-time starter at Houston and, like Retzlaff, brings size and mobility at 6-3 and 220 pounds.
“The guy last year really hurt us and part of it was our own undoing with our mistakes,” Duke defensive coordinator Jonathan Patke said Monday. ”We need to be precise in how we attack a quarterback that can beat us with his feet.”
On the other side of the ball, safety Jack Tchienchou returns as Tulane’s defensive centerpiece. The redshirt junior, a Troy transfer, was first-team All-American Conference last season after leading the team with 83 tackles and earning the league’s championship game MVP award.
Tulane finished 11-3 last season before losing to Ole Miss in its first College Football Playoff appearance. Duke enters this year with two nine-win seasons, an ACC title, a Sun Bowl win and an 11-5 ACC record over Diaz’s first two years in Durham.
The oddsmakers are leaning toward the Blue Devils. Most books list Duke as a 7.5-point favorite, with FanDuel setting the moneyline at Duke -310 and Tulane +245. The over/under is 51.5.
Kickoff is set for Saturday at 3:30 p.m., with the game on ACC Network and streaming available through Fubo and the ESPN app.
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