Duke’s 2026 season opener was messy on one side of the ball, but the defense gave the Blue Devils exactly what they needed in a 17-3 win over Tulane on Saturday.
The offense never really found its rhythm, and that kept the game from ever feeling comfortable. But Duke’s defense looked far more like a unit ready to take a step forward, which matters a lot for a team trying to get back to its 2024 form on that side of the ball.
Tulane spent most of the night searching for answers. The Green Wave eventually went from Zeon Chriss-Gremillion to Kadin Semonza at quarterback, but the switch didn’t change much.
Duke kept Tulane out of the end zone until the fourth quarter and limited the Green Wave to 258 total yards. Tulane also finished just 3-for-14 on third down and failed on both of its fourth-down tries.
Bryce Davis, Nick Morris Jr. and Luke Mergott each finished with six tackles to lead the Blue Devils. Davis also piled up two sacks and three tackles for loss, while Morris came away with a fumble recovery.
That kind of start was badly needed. Duke took a clear step back defensively in 2025 after what had been arguably the ACC’s top unit in 2024. Last season, the Blue Devils finished 15th in the league in passing yards allowed per game at 276.8 and last in total passing yards allowed with 3,875.
Against Tulane, though, the numbers told a very different story. Duke held the Green Wave to 204 passing yards, no passing touchdowns and just 54 rushing yards on 2.1 yards per carry.
After the game, Manny Diaz pointed to one word when asked about the defense.
"Well one, I'd just say their pride," Diaz said. "Right because everybody told them it's impossible for them to make the improvements that we knew that they were going to make inside.
And so, starting with the staff, coach [Jonathan] Patke and his staff, and how they came to work every day, how they game plan... Man, what a proud moment for all those guys."
Now Duke turns to a road trip to Illinois this weekend for an early-season test. After that, the Blue Devils will return home for games against Stanford and William & Mary.
If Duke can come out of Champaign with a win, a 4-0 start is there for the taking. It’s still the first week of the season, but the defense already gave the Blue Devils a strong reason to believe they can move in the right direction.
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Dukes Week 1 win over Tulane gave Manny Diaz an immediate reason to feel encouraged about the direction of his program. The Blue Devils controlled enough of the game to leave with a convincing early-season result, and the defense did its part by making life difficult on a Tulane offense that never found much rhythm. With Illinois up next, the opener offered a useful first look at how Duke wants to play under its new head coach.
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