Duke 19, Virginia 16: Sheppard's late touchdown pass beats a day of field goals

Duke had the ball for 21 minutes and 13 seconds on Friday night at Scott Stadium and converted two of 10 third downs. It still left with a 19-16 win, because Nate Sheppard threw a 28-yard touchdown to Brody Keefe with 1:14 to play and Virginia spent most of the night settling for field goals.

The Cavaliers held the ball for 38:47, ran for 195 yards and earned 22 first downs to Duke's 16. They scored one touchdown. Will Bettridge kicked three field goals, and the last of them, a 30-yarder with three minutes left, gave Virginia a 16-13 lead it could not hold.

How it was won

Sheppard opened the scoring with a 32-yard run at 10:59 of the first quarter, and Gavin Strange added the kick. Virginia answered at 3:05 when Jekail Middlebrook went in from a yard out, with Bettridge converting to tie it at 7.

The second quarter belonged to Bettridge. He hit from 21 yards at 9:06 and from 32 as time expired, sending Virginia into the half up 13-7.

Strange then matched him. His 39-yard field goal at 12:22 of the third quarter cut it to 13-10, and another 39-yarder at 8:50 of the fourth tied it at 13. Bettridge's 30-yarder at 3:00 restored the Virginia lead.

Duke needed less than two minutes to answer. Sheppard, who also led the team with 55 rushing yards on 15 carries, found Keefe for 28 yards and the go-ahead score. Strange's extra point failed, leaving the margin at three, and Virginia did not score again.

The box score explains why the Cavaliers lost a game they mostly controlled. Middlebrook carried 24 times for 117 yards and Beau Pribula added 66 on 21 carries, but Virginia went 5 of 17 on third down and turned the ball over twice. Pribula finished 15 of 24 for 158 yards with an interception. John Rogers caught five passes for 65 yards and Dakota Twitty three for 41.

Duke outgained Virginia through the air, 256 to 158, though it finished with 327 total yards to Virginia's 353. Walker Eget was 14 of 25 for 211 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. Jonah Burton led the receivers with four catches for 59 yards, and Keefe had three for 48. CJ Campbell Jr. added a 12-yard run. Duke turned it over once.

Against the number

Virginia closed as a 2.5-point favorite, so Duke covered and won outright. The Blue Devils' moneyline closed at +114, with Virginia at -135.

The total closed at 47.5. With 35 points scored and five field goals among the eight scoring plays, the under came in by 12.5 points. Full closing odds are on the game page.

What's next

Duke moves to 5-2 and ends a two-game losing streak after a 24-20 home loss to North Carolina and a 28-25 defeat at Georgia Tech. All three of its games this month have been decided by four points or fewer. The Blue Devils host Boston College on Saturday, October 31, on the CW.

Virginia falls to 4-4 with consecutive losses, following a 23-13 defeat at No. 24 SMU. The Cavaliers travel to No. 17 Wake Forest on Saturday, October 31, needing two more wins to reach bowl eligibility.