Duke demolishes Syracuse with balanced attack
Duke built on its first ACC win with a blowout win on the road for its second.
The Blue Devils won 38-3 at Syracuse on Saturday. They piled up more than 500 yards of offense, had not given up 300 until the last two minutes of the game, and steamrolled the Orange.
Freshman running back Nate Sheppard had a breakout game with 168 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. He also had 33 yards on four catches.
Sheppard broke free for a 49-yard touchdown run — the first rushing score of his career — to break a 3-3 tie in the first quarter.
Quarterback Darian Mensah was efficient once again, completing 22 of 28 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns. He did not have a turnover for the second straight game.
Duke (3-2, 2-0 ACC) forced three turnovers, though. Those led to 10 points and came at key points — one on the first possession of the game and another on Syracuse’s first possession of the second half, when Duke’s lead was at 24-3.
Cooper Barkate also scored a pair of touchdowns, on catches of 34 and 12 yards in the second quarter.
Anderson Castle’s 13-yard touchdown run with 11:04 left in the game was the final score and cemented the result.
Moussa Kane led Duke’s defense with nine tackles. Caleb Weaver had an interception; Jaiden Francois and DaShawn Stone forced fumbles.
