Duke will have one fewer Tulane weapon to worry about when the teams meet Saturday afternoon in Durham.
Pete Thamel reported Friday that Green Wave running back Jamauri McClure will sit out the game because of a foot injury. That’s a notable blow for Tulane, since McClure earned a spot on the preseason All-AAC team and is coming off a 2025 season in which he ran for 540 yards and two touchdowns.
Without McClure, Tulane is expected to lean on Maurice Turner and Johnnie Daniels to handle the backfield work. The Green Wave are also entering their first season under new head coach Will Hall, who replaced John Sumrall, so the timing of the injury isn’t ideal for an offense trying to establish itself early. The hope was to get the run game rolling for a new quarterback, but that plan takes a hit before Week 1 even gets going.
Duke, meanwhile, opens the season at home with plenty of questions of its own. The Blue Devils are coming off an Atlantic Coast Conference title in 2025 after beating Virginia and then Arizona State in the bowl game, but they’ll have to move forward without Darian Mensah, who is at Miami. Saturday gives Manny Diaz’s team its first chance to answer some of those questions.
The matchup also brings a familiar opponent back to Wallace-Wade Stadium. Tulane beat Duke in a tight game last season in New Orleans, though both offenses will look different this time around after the Green Wave lost Jake Retzlaff and the Blue Devils lost Mensah.
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, with the game airing on the ACC Network.
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