Sirk leads Duke to dominant victory at Tulane 37-7

NEW ORLEANS -- Thomas Sirk produced 357 yards from scrimmage and passed for two touchdowns in his first start, and Duke beat Tulane 37-7 in the opener for both teams on Thursday night. Directing a read-option offense, Sirk hit 27 of 40 passes for 289 yards, rushed 15 times for 68 yards, was not sacked and did not throw an interception. Sirk converted nine of the 17 third-downs he faced as Duke racked up 530 yards to Tulane's 271. The Blue Devils possessed the ball for 36:01 and could have won by more if Tulane's defense hadn't recovered two fumbles, made a fourth-down stop and forced three field goals. Duke led 23-0 in the fourth quarter before Tulane finally scored on Devon Breaux 's 76-yard reception from Tanner Lee . But DeVon Edwards returned the next kickoff 95 yards to put Duke right back up by 23 points.