Duke 47, Boston College 2: Nate Sheppard runs for five touchdowns

Duke beat Boston College 47-2 on Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium. Nate Sheppard scored five times on the ground, and the Duke defense held the Eagles to 213 total yards and no offensive points.

Boston College's only score came on a returned extra point. Duke led 13-2 after one quarter and 27-2 at halftime, and the second half never changed the shape of the game. The Blue Devils move to 6-2. The Eagles fall to 4-4.

How it was won

Sheppard opened the scoring with a 1-yard run at 7:33 of the first quarter. He added a 2-yard run at 3:43. C. Davis returned the extra-point try for a defensive conversion, which accounts for both of Boston College's points.

Sheppard's longest run came at 9:06 of the second quarter, a 54-yard touchdown. Walker Eget then found Jeremiah Hasley for a 5-yard score at 2:14 to send Duke into the break up 27-2.

The third quarter belonged to Sheppard again. He scored from 4 yards at 10:41 and from 1 yard at 6:44. G. Strange closed it out with field goals of 41 yards at 12:02 and 24 yards at 2:58 of the fourth. Strange was good on five extra points.

Sheppard finished with 20 carries for 97 yards and five touchdowns. Jayvian Tanelus added 46 yards on five carries. Eget was efficient, completing 11 of 18 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown. Hasley caught three passes for 55 yards, and Javen Nicholas had one catch for 44.

Duke outgained Boston College 382 to 213, with 233 passing yards and 149 rushing. The Blue Devils had 21 first downs to 14, converted 5 of 12 third downs, and held the ball for 34:00.

The Eagles could not sustain anything. They converted 2 of 13 third downs and turned the ball over twice; Duke turned it over once. Mason McKenzie completed 9 of 17 passes for 87 yards and also led the team with 24 rushing yards on 13 carries. Bo MacCormack III ran nine times for 24 yards. The biggest plays through the air were a 36-yard catch by Jackson Wade and a 24-yard catch by Dawson Pough.

Against the number

Duke closed as a 7-point favorite and won by 45, covering easily. The moneyline was Duke -278 and Boston College +225, so the favorite paid as expected.

The total closed at 49.5. With 49 points scored, the game went under by half a point. Duke's two late field goals took it to the edge, and the returned extra point in the first quarter, which swung a would-be Duke point into two for Boston College, was part of the arithmetic. Those holding the under needed Duke to settle for three on both fourth-quarter drives, and it did.

Full closing prices are on the game page.

What's next

Duke travels to NC State on Saturday, November 7. The Blue Devils had lost two straight before a 19-16 win at Virginia, and this result gives them a second consecutive win heading into the road trip.

Boston College arrived on a two-game winning streak, including a 49-27 win at Georgia Tech, and leaves Durham at 4-4. The Eagles' next game had not been listed at the time of writing.