Duke Uses Late Trick Play to Beat Virginia

The Duke Blue Devils are back in the win column. 

After coming out of their bye week with a loss at Georgia Tech and then dropping a tough home game to North Carolina, they lost the Victory Bell for the first time in a few years. Duke got back into that win column thanks to a late trick play from none other than star running back Nate Sheppard. 

While Sheppard was contained for the most part in the rushing and receiving category, it was his touchdown pass late that gave Duke a 19-16 win. 

With 1:14 left in the game, quarterback Walker Eget threw a backwards pass to Sheppard who then found a wide open Brody Keefe for a 32-yard touchdown pass to give Duke the 19-16 lead. A Duke interception on Virginia's final possession sealed the game for them. 

Sheppard entered this game as the leading rusher in the Atlantic Coast Conference and was top five in the country. But he was limited to just 55 rushing yards on 15 carries and had two receptions for 11 yards in the game. 

Most of his damage on the ground was done on Duke's first scoring drive of the game as he found the end zone from 32 yards out to give the Blue Devils a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

Virginia answered that score with a touchdown of their own late in the first quarter as Jekail Middlebrook found the end zone from one yard out. From there, Virgina took control, getting two field goals from Will Bettridge in the second quarter to take a 13-7 lead. 

Their defense did a good job on Duke's offense and with Eget leaving the game briefly, Dan Mahan came in for him and completed just two of his five attempts. Add in the struggles from Sheppard, and Duke had to get creative at the right time.

After Gavin Strange connected on two field goals to tie the game at 13, Virginia once again grabbed the lead with a 30-yard-field goal with three minutes left in the game. That set the stage for the dramatics. 

Duke was able to execute the trick play and then use a defensive takeaway to put their stamp on it and end a frustrating game. 

The Blue Devils were out-gained 353-327 and Virginia had the ball for 17 more minutes in the game. However, it's the final scored that Duke is worried about. 

Next up for Duke is hosting Boston College on Halloween with a noon ET kickoff. The Blue Devils are now 5-2 overall and 2-2 in ACC play.