Duke has its rhythm back, and Nate Sheppard made sure everybody noticed.
After dropping two straight, Manny Diaz’s team has strung together back-to-back wins, first edging Virginia 19-16 on the road last Friday night, then hammering Boston College 47-2 at Wallace Wade Stadium on Saturday. That leaves the Blue Devils at 6-2 overall and 3-2 in ACC play, with NC State in Raleigh next before a road trip to face No. 1 Miami in Coral Gables.
If Duke is going to walk into that matchup with real confidence, Saturday was the kind of performance that helps build it. The Blue Devils were sharp, physical and in control from start to finish, and Sheppard was the center of everything.
The star running back had been quieter than usual in the two games before this one, going for 77 yards on 20 carries against North Carolina and 55 yards on 15 carries against Virginia. Against Boston College, he snapped right back into his dominant form. Sheppard finished with 20 carries for 97 yards and five touchdowns, plus one reception for 32 yards.
That outburst pushed him into the record book in multiple places. He set Duke’s single-season touchdowns from scrimmage mark with 18, broke the program’s single-game rushing touchdown record and matched the single-season rushing touchdown record with 14.
After his fifth score, Sheppard flashed the Heisman Trophy pose, a little reminder that he’s very much in that conversation again. He looked every bit like the player Duke wanted the offense to run through.
Boston College came in having won two in a row and with a ground game that had been doing most of the damage. Duke shut that down completely.
Quarterback Mason McKenzie, who entered the game with more than 600 rushing yards, was held to 24 yards on 13 carries. The Blue Devils piled up six sacks, 11 tackles for loss and two fumble recoveries.
The Eagles managed only 213 total yards and just 78 on the ground on 33 attempts, a 2.4-yard average. That was a massive drop from the previous week, when Boston College ran for 399 yards in a 49-27 win over Georgia Tech.
Nothing came easy for the Eagles all afternoon. They went 2-of-13 on third down and -of-4 on fourth down, and their only points came on a blocked PAT that was returned for a safety score. Duke, meanwhile, has now held its last three opponents to a combined 10 second-half points.
Penalties remain a problem for Diaz’s team, and that showed again with 10 flags for 90 yards. But Boston College hurt itself early too, and those mistakes helped Duke seize control.
A couple of weeks after looking like it was in trouble, Duke suddenly has some real momentum. Now the Blue Devils head to NC State with a winning streak, a record above .500 in league play and a chance to keep building before the trip to face the top team in the country.
In Other News...
Nate Sheppard Just Pushed Duke Into A Much Bigger Conversation
Nate Sheppard turned a routine late-season game into a statement performance against Boston College, and in the process pushed Duke into a much bigger conversation. The sophomore running back set multiple school records in the win, including five rushing touchdowns in a single game and 18 total touchdowns on the season, giving the Blue Devils a centerpiece who has been as productive as any player in the country.
For Duke, the timing matters as much as the numbers. Sheppards surge helped secure bowl eligibility and reinforced his standing among the FBS leaders in all-purpose yards and total touchdowns, the kind of production that changes how opponents prepare and how the rest of the schedule looks from here. [Read more 🡒]
Duke Just Added More Fuel To A North Carolina Basketball Debate
Duke enters the new college basketball season with the kind of roster and preseason buzz that usually keeps the conversation centered on Durham. Under Jon Scheyer, the Blue Devils are again viewed as a national contender, and CBS has gone so far as to label them the best team in North Carolina. For a program that has spent decades setting the standard, that kind of attention is less a surprise than a reminder of how high the bar remains.
The comparison matters because North Carolina basketball arguments never stay quiet for long, especially when Duke is ranked among the top five before the first meaningful games are played. The Blue Devils have history, talent and expectations all working in their favor, which only sharpens the debate with the other programs in the state. However the season unfolds, Duke has already added another layer to the annual question of who holds the edge in North Carolina. [Read more 🡒]
Nate Sheppard Just Gave Duke Fans A Real Reason To Believe
A lopsided win over Boston College gave Duke football more than another mark in the victory column. The Blue Devils rolled to a 47-2 finish, moved to 6-2 and clinched bowl eligibility, with the defense controlling the game from start to finish and keeping the Eagles out of the end zone.
Nate Sheppard was the centerpiece of it all, setting Duke records with five rushing touchdowns in one game and pushing his season total to 14 on the ground. Boston Colleges only points came on a botched hold on a PAT that was returned for a safety, a fittingly strange footnote to a night when Duke looked as complete as it has all season. [Read more 🡒]