Duke starts slow then rolls past California 45-21

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Duke Blue Devils linebacker Bradley Gompers (24) is called for targeting against California Golden Bears wide receiver Jordan King (4) after making a catch in the first half of their game at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group via AP)

Duke Blue Devils quarterback Darian Mensah (10) looks to pass the ball in the first half of their game at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group via AP) — Duke Blue Devils linebacker Bradley Gompers (24) is called for targeting against California Golden Bears wide receiver Jordan King (4) after making a catch in the first half of their game at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group via AP)

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11:04 PM on Saturday, October 4

By MICHAEL WAGAMAN

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Duke quarterback Darian Mensah passed for 265 yards and two touchdowns, helping the Blue Devils rally and beat California 45-21 on Saturday night.

Que’Sean Brown caught six passes for a career-high 104 yards and a touchdown, helping Duke (4-2, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) to the win on its first trip to Memorial Stadium since 1963.

Nate Sheppard and Anderson Castle each ran for two touchdowns, while Jaquez Moore also had a rushing touchdown as the Blue Devils won their third straight.

“We stayed real calm, we trusted our coaching, we trusted everybody on the field,” Brown said. “We just came out with the mindset ’we can catch them, they can’t catch us.'”

California quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutete passed for 245 yards with three interceptions and one touchdown.

“(The) team’s gotta grow up,” Cal coach Justin Wilcox said. “We have glimpses where we can play good football but it’s too much of a roller coaster.”

The Bears (4-2, 1-1) have lost two of three.

Trailing 14-0 midway through the first quarter, Mensah engineered four consecutive scoring drives to give Duke control.

Castle scored on a pair of short scoring runs, and Mensah threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Brown before guiding another late drive to set up Todd Pelino’s 25-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.

Mensah threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Barkate in the second half.

Duke’s defense had three interceptions and six sacks.

The takeaway

Duke: Mensah was sharp and had the Blue Devils’ up-tempo offense humming in the second quarter when they scored three touchdowns in a span of 6 ½ minutes against a defense that had been allowing an average of 18 points per game.

California: Sagapolutele’s accuracy and poise as a true freshman stands out every week but the Bears were unable to do much on the ground, allowing Duke’s defense to focus on stopping the passing game.

Up next

Duke: Hosts No. 17 Georgia Tech on Nov. 15.

California: Hosts North Carolina on Oct. 17.

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