By JOHN ERFORT Associated Press
ELPASO, Texas (AP) — Darian Mensah threw for 327 yards and four touchdowns to lead Duke to a 42-39 victory over Arizona State in the Sun Bowl on Wednesday.
Mensah, the game’s MVP, was 29 of 51 passing with an interception. He helped Duke to its fourth straight win and tied a Sun Bowl record for TD passes in a game. That included a 17-yard scoring pass to Que’Sean Brown with 2:10 to play that lifted the Blue Devils to victory.
“I was pretty defeated after the fourth down where we didn’t convert,” Mensah said of a late turnover on downs with Duke trailing 39-35. “My teammates did an exceptional job of lifting me up. It’s my teammates. All I have to do is get it to my playmakers.”
And although the ACC champion Blue Devils (9-5) would’ve liked to have been in the College Football Playoff, no one was thinking about that after winning this shootout.
“That was an instant classic,” Duke head coach Manny Diaz said. “There’s cynicism around bowls, who wants to play, crowds … that was a big-time atmosphere, that was a big-time game, both teams gave it all, back and forth, momentum swings.
“We got in a position where it was all going against us in the fourth quarter, but our guys have shown time and time again when the easiest thing to do is sit there and say, ‘It’s not our day,’ they find a way to win and make winning plays.”
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- Running back Nate Sheppard #20 of the Duke Blue Devils stiff-arms defensive back Tommy Romano #46 of the Arizona State Sun Devils during the second half of the Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl game at Sun Bowl Stadium on December 31, 2025 in El Paso, Texas. The Blue Devils defeated the Sun Devils 42-39. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images)
Nate Sheppard led Duke in rushing with 22 carries for 170 yards and a TD, while Brown was the top receiver with 10 catches for 178 yards and two scores.
“It was a roller coaster,” Brown said of the game. “Coming off that last drive, we didn’t convert on fourth down. Then we saw that fumble, we got on offense. I looked at Darren when we went to the field. If there’s one guy in front of me, no one is stopping me.”
The Blue Devils also won nine games for a second consecutive season — only the second time in program history they accomplished the feat.
Arizona State (8-5) was led by quarterback Jeff Sims, who was 27 of 38 passing for 375 yards and three TDs. He also ran for 70 yards and two scores on seven carries, including a 38-yard run in the second quarter that tied the game at 21-all.
The game, which set Sun Bowl records for combined total offense (1,158 yards), individual team offense (ASU, 619 yards), and most points in a half (52 in the first half), was tied three times and had two lead changes. ASU had three turnovers to one for Duke.
“Losing sucks,” ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham said. “You’re not going to win games when you lose the turnover battle like that. The stats – 619 yards of offense, defensively we played well in the biggest moments, we got a stop when it was needed – they just made one more play than us. They were champions of their conference for a reason.”
Sims, who was in his final year of eligibility, was disappointed despite having a breakout game.
“When the time came for me to make a play, I didn’t,” he said. “That’s the only thing I’m thinking about. It’s cool to have the touchdowns and all that, but we didn’t win. We were in a position and we didn’t get it done.”
The Sun Devils took the lead at 39-35 on a 6-yard TD pass from Sims to Malik McClain at 12:31 of the fourth quarter — their first lead since the game’s opening score, a 4-yard run by Sims.
After exchanging possessions, the Blue Devils were driving for a go-ahead score and looked to have it on an 8-yard pass from Mensah to Cooper Barkate, but ASU’s Nyland Green knocked the ball out of Barkate’s hands in the end zone.
The Sun Devils took over with 2:51 remaining and seemingly in control, but Jason Brown Jr. fumbled at the end of a 14-yard carry on the next play. Kendall Johnson forced the fumble and Ma’Khi Jones recovered for the Blue Devils on the ASU 22-yard line.
Two players later, Mensah connected with Brown on a receiver screen to the left side and Brown broke a tackle en route to a 17-yard score that regained the lead for Duke at 42-39.
Arizona State got one more crack with just over two minutes to play, but a Sims’ pass over the middle was intercepted by Duke’s Luke Mergott, sealing the win.
ASU was led in rushing by Brown Jr., who had 12 carries for 120 yards, while McClain was the leading receiver with nine catches for 63 yards and a TD.
The takeaway
Duke was a small favorite going into the game, not only because it was the ACC champ, but also because it only had two players who were unavailable. Arizona State was without 22 players who had been on the roster and played at some point this season, led by quarterback Sam Leavitt and wide receiver Jordyn Tyson. Leavitt, who has been out with a foot injury since November, entered the transfer portal, while Tyson is expected to be a first-round pick in the NFL draft. The Sun Devils had four players making their first start, and 18 who were on the gameday roster for the first time.
The teams had met only once before – in the 2019 Sun Bowl, a 36-21 Arizona State victory. Since then, ASU’s only bowl appearance was last year’s Peach Bowl, a 39-31 loss to Texas in the College Football Playoff. ASU is now 15-18-1 in bowl games and 4-3-1 in the Sun Bowl. Duke improved to 9-9 in bowls and has won five of its past six bowl games.
In addition to the game’s MVP award, Duke defensive lineman Aaron Hall was the game’s most valuable lineman, and Blue Devils punter Kade Reynoldson was the most valuable special teams player.
Up next
Arizona State: Opens the 2026 season at home against Morgan State on Sept. 5.
Duke: Opens its season at home against Tulane on Sept. 5.