Duke rolls Wake Forest, to play Virginia in ACC title sport

Darian Mensah set Duke’s single-season record with his 27th and 28th passing touchdowns as the Blue Devils went on to beat Wake Forest 49-32 on Saturday at Durham, N.C., then advanced to the Atlantic Coast Conference title game later in the day.

Anderson Castle and Nate Sheppard each ran for two touchdowns for the Blue Devils (7-5, 6-2 ACC), who will face Virginia for the ACC championship next Saturday after No. 21 SMU was upset by Cal.

Mensah was 24-for-35 for 268 yards, including a 30-yard TD strike to Sahmir Hagans in the third quarter for the school record. Earlier in the game, Mensah scrambled 4 yards for his first rushing touchdown of the season.

Wake Forest (8-4, 4-4) committed four turnovers without forcing any. Quarterback Robby Ashford threw for two touchdowns and 342 yards with an interception and ran for a touchdown and a 2-point conversion.

Duke broke away with the first two touchdowns of the second half, with Mensah throwing the scoring pass to Hagans and Castle plowing in from 2 yards out to take a 35-17 lead.

Ashford’s 10-yard run and ensuing two-point conversion run on the final snaps of the third quarter cut the deficit to 35-25.

Hagans returned the kickoff 80 yards to the Wake Forest 13 to begin the fourth quarter. Sheppard was in the end zone two plays later on a 13-yard run around the left end.

In the second quarter, Wake Forest’s fourth-down gamble from its 36 went awry when Duke’s Vincent Anthony Jr. tackled Ashford for a 2-yard loss with 4:02 to play in the half. The Blue Devils converted on Castle’s 1-yard run.

But the Demon Deacons responded, driving 75 yards in eight plays without a timeout – picking up a fourth-and-3 along the way — and scoring on Ashford’s 20-yard pass to Karate Brenson with 29 seconds left in the half.

Wake Forest was flagged for 58 yards worth of penalties — all on defense — in the first quarter. Both teams scored on their first two possessions.

Duke scored first-quarter touchdowns on Sheppard’s 5-yard run and Mensah’s 4-yard scramble, which came on the final play of the quarter for a 14-3 lead.

Wake Forest’s first points came on Connor Calvert’s 42-yard field goal. The Demon Deacons opened the second-quarter scoring when Ashford threw 22 yards to Sawyer Racanelli.

–Field Level Media