MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- After months of anticipation, Miami quarterback Darian Mensah and receiver Cooper Barkate finally got a chance to face the Duke team they left in January.
They came out on the winning side.
No. 7 Miami handled Duke 36-25 on Saturday, pulling away in the fourth quarter to bounce back after its first loss of the season last week against No. 5 Notre Dame.
If North Carolina beats Louisville later Saturday, the Hurricanes will clinch a spot in the ACC championship game. That would mark a second straight ACC title game appearance for Mensah and Barkate, who won the championship with Duke last year.
"If I'm being honest, it definitely did feel different, a little bit weird," Mensah said after throwing for 382 yards and a touchdown in the victory. "I couldn't stop smiling for some reason when I first stepped on the field, just because I have a lot of love for those guys. But when the ball's snapped, it's kill mode. It's try and go out there and execute."
Both Mensah and Barkate were expected to return to Duke for the 2026 season but surprised many when they entered the transfer portal. Duke sued Mensah to try to enforce the multiyear NIL contract he signed with the school. Ultimately, the two sides settled, paving the way for him to join the Hurricanes.
His performance this season has allowed Miami to once again contend for a spot in the College Football Playoff. For the bulk of the season, Mensah had completed 80% of his passes, but without Malachi Toney (ankle) last week, he had his worst statistical game of the year. Mensah repeatedly said in the aftermath, "I have to be better."
Things started slowly again for the Miami offense, as Duke pressured Mensah and slowed down the run. But the Hurricanes showed patience and ultimately started hitting Duke with the quick game to put together longer drives. As a result, Mensah went 23-of-29 for 300 yards and a score on throws 5 air yards or fewer. That includes a flip pass to freshman running back Javian Mallory in the third quarter that Mallory took 63 yards for the touchdown to give the Hurricanes their first double-digit lead of the game.
Duke answered behind Nate Sheppard, who finished with 240 yards from scrimmage, before two more Mallory touchdowns helped give the Hurricanes a three-score lead.
Barkate, who has emerged in the past two weeks with Toney out, had eight catches for a season-high 134 yards, his first 100-yard game of the season. Before the game even started, former Duke staffers went up to Barkate to say hello during pregame warmups. Once the game started, Barkate said there was some trash talk with the Duke defensive backs, but it slowly stopped as he and the Hurricanes made more plays.
"Football is a tough sport because you've got to play four quarters of it," Barkate said. "They come out, and it's easy to play well for a couple quarters and hang with a good team like us, but after four quarters of how we play football, it starts to slowly wear down. It showed."
After the game ended, Mensah was surrounded by his former Duke teammates, something he described as "cool."
"Those guys are my brothers, and it was weird leaving last year. But everything happens for a reason, and I'm happy where I'm at, and I'm super blessed," he said.
Miami remains poised to play in the ACC championship game for the second time in school history. But Barkate said the goal for this season is "beyond that."
"Our goal is definitely to get to Charlotte, but it's even beyond that," Barkate said. "I don't think that really moves the needle at all for us. We want to get there, but we have further goals as well."