Duke opened its season the hard way, with a 90-minute weather delay hanging over Wallace Wade Stadium late Saturday afternoon. Once the game finally got going, though, the Blue Devils never let Tulane find the front edge.
The reigning ACC champions handled the Green Wave 17-3, extending their run to four straight season-opening wins and doing it without wideout Javen Nicholas in Week 1. The night belonged to Nate Sheppard, who carried Duke on offense from the first series through the final punch-in.
Duke set the tone immediately by chewing nearly 10 minutes off the clock on the opening drive. Sheppard did most of the heavy lifting there, accounting for 51 of the Blue Devils’ 75 yards before finishing the march with a nine-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead.
Duke’s defense then backed that up, giving up just 35 yards before forcing a punt near midfield. After that, both teams spent stretches trading uninspired drives.
Sheppard broke things open again early in the second quarter with a 47-yard burst that put Duke in position to add on. At that point, the redshirt sophomore had already piled up 99 rushing yards with more than 10 minutes left in the half.
But the Blue Devils couldn’t cash in on the chance, as Cosme Salas missed a 32-yard field goal try. Tulane then answered with a 55-yard drive of its own, only to watch a 43-yard field goal hit the upright.
Duke still managed to take a 10-0 lead into halftime when Salas connected from 22 yards as the clock hit zero. Through two quarters, Sheppard had 139 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.
The third quarter turned messy, with missed chances and a fumble by each team leaving the scoreboard untouched. Tulane finally got on the board early in the fourth with a 37-yard field goal, trimming the margin and briefly putting some pressure on Duke.
The Blue Devils answered with a methodical drive that leaned on Sheppard and backup quarterback Dan Mahan, a redshirt freshman who took the first snaps of his college career. Sheppard finished the march with a 14-yard touchdown run, stretching Duke’s lead to 17-3 with under seven minutes left.
By the end, Sheppard had authored a career night: 227 rushing yards on 35 carries and both Duke touchdowns. Walker Eget Jr. went 13-for-26 for 131 passing yards.
Duke’s defense made the rest of the evening manageable, holding Tulane to 258 total yards and just 54 on the ground.
The Blue Devils now turn to Illinois, where they’ll face the Fighting Illini next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
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