North Carolina coach Bill Belichick left little doubt about what he saw from Duke running back Nate Sheppard in the Week 7 matchup.
Belichick was asked about Sheppard after the game and made a point to rave about him, going as far as calling him the best running back in college football. He also pointed to how Sheppard was able to get outside on UNC’s defense, especially on the screen game that the Tar Heels like to use. That was where Sheppard did a lot of his damage.
Even in a game where it was clear he wasn’t at full strength, Sheppard still gave Duke plenty. He was a true game-time decision after showing up on the injury report earlier in the week, but he played and logged 77 rushing yards on 20 carries. Through the air, he added 11 catches for 98 yards and a touchdown.
Duke needed that production, because the Blue Devils had to fight from behind the whole night. UNC jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first half, and Duke went into the break trailing 17-7. The Blue Devils eventually clawed back and took the lead late, but they couldn’t finish the job.
The loss gives Duke its first losing streak of the 2026 college football season and drops the Blue Devils to 4-2 overall and 1-2 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. It also ends Duke’s brief run with the Victory Bell, as North Carolina reclaimed it for the first time in three years. The Tar Heels’ win was their first over Duke since the 2023 season.
Belichick didn’t stop with Sheppard. He also described Duke as a good football team, called the Blue Devils the defending ACC champs, and said they deserved that label based on what they had accomplished.
Duke won’t get a shot at immediate revenge. The two rivals won’t meet again until next year, when the Blue Devils will have to go to Chapel Hill to try to take the Victory Bell back.
For now, Manny Diaz’s team turns its attention to Virginia. Duke heads to take on the Cavaliers, who are 4-2 overall and 2-2 in ACC play, and Sheppard’s health will be something to watch as the Blue Devils try to bounce back.
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Duke Let The Victory Bell Slip Away In Brutal Fashion
Duke turned a rivalry game that looked to be slipping away into a real live-wire finish, clawing back from a 17-point hole and finally seizing the lead late against North Carolina. Nate Sheppard was at the center of it, giving the Blue Devils a lift with 77 rushing yards and 98 receiving yards, capped by a late touchdown catch that put Duke in front and sent the sideline into celebration.
The defense had enough chances to make that lead stand, but the final minutes belonged to North Carolina, which answered with the winning touchdown under two minutes remaining in a 24-20 escape. For Duke, the frustration is not just the loss itself but how close it came after such a hard-earned rally, with a chance to own the Victory Bell slipping away in the harshest possible fashion. [Read more 🡒]
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Among the names worth watching are Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, Deron Rippey Jr. and Wilkins, who are all expected to have notable roles in the game and beyond. Tennessee brings the kind of top-10 challenge that can expose inexperience fast, so this meeting should tell Duke plenty about how ready those younger pieces are to handle a higher level of pressure before the schedule turns real. [Read more 🡒]
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That matters because Duke is about to get a real test run before the games start counting. The Blue Devils will host an exhibition against No. 8 Tennessee, then turn around for another exhibition with No. 17 Kansas before opening the regular season at home against Army on Nov. 2. For a team with big expectations, those first chances to show how the pieces fit may say as much about the season ahead as any ranking does. [Read more 🡒]