The Duke football program missed out on a major opportunity to collect a big-time win this past weekend, as the Blue Devils fell handily to No. 11 Illinois at home, 45-19. It was a sloppy first half on the offensive side of the ball for Duke, but a four-sack performance from the Blue Devil defense kept the team in it. Duke entered the halftime locker room down 14-13 with the victory within reach. However, an extremely disappointing second half from Duke on both sides of the ball let the game get completely out of hand. The Blue Devils were outscored by the Fighting Illini 31-6 across the final 30 minutes, leading to an embarrassing 26-point defeat at home. At the center of the lackluster play is Duke QB Darian Mensah, and now the question arises if he was worth the $7.5-million payday.
Grading Darian Mensah's performance against No. 11 Illinois
The redshirt sophomore looked promising in the first half, making several great throws, some dropped by receivers. Mensah struggled to see pressure again, which led to a fumble in the red zone midway through the first half, completely shifting the momentum back towards the Illini. But after Duke went into halftime down only a point, it felt like the perfect time for Mensah to prove he's one of the top young QBs in college football. However, things didn't go as planned.
Grade: C
Turnovers became Duke's kryptonite in the second half. The Blue Devils committed five turnovers throughout the course of the game, which ultimately led to 21 Illinois points. Three of those were committed by Mensah in the form of two fumbles and an interception.
This was the second week in a row that Duke fumbled the ball in the red zone early in the game, but this time, it was on Mensah. Against Elon, the Blue Devils gave up the possession after a botched handoff between Mensah and Jaquez Moore. Against the Illini, Mensah was rolling out of the pocket and simply just didn't sense the pressure behind him.
Overall, Mensah didn't look bad. But he clearly didn't look ready for the moment against an elite team. The Blue Devils were only able to find the end zone once throughout the entirety of the second half, and the passing game was practically nonexistent. Granted, the Illini secondary did a phenomenal job in coverage, but Mensah looked rushed and uncomfortable in the pocket for the majority of the second half.
The former Tulane Green Wave finished the contest 23-of-34 passing (67.6%) for 334 yards, two touchdowns, an interception, and two fumbles. Now, Duke likely will have to win out for any chance at a College Football Playoff berth.