Duke beats Virginia 19-16 on Nate Sheppard trick-play touchdown pass with 1:14 left

Duke's offense spent most of Friday night struggling to move against Virginia. Then, with the game on the line, the Blue Devils gave the ball to Nate Sheppard, the ACC's leading rusher, and he threw it. Sheppard's 28-yard pass to a wide-open Brody Keefe with 1:14 left gave Duke a 19-16 win at Scott Stadium. It ended a two-game losing streak, and it handed Virginia its first home loss of the season.

The Cavaliers had just gone ahead 16-13 on Will Bettridge's 30-yard field goal with three minutes to play, according to ESPN's Associated Press recap. Duke then went 75 yards in seven plays. The winning play was a double pass that Streaking the Lawn noted came right after a similar-looking swing concept. Virginia linebacker Kam Robinson said the defense thought Duke would run the same play toward the boundary. "We really wasn't even expecting that," Robinson told the AP. Beau Pribula's last pass of the night was intercepted by Patrick Smith-Young, which ended the game.

Virginia had several chances to put the game away. Duke quarterback Walker Eget hurt his hand on the opening drive, which Sheppard finished with a 32-yard touchdown run. Eget did not return until halftime, Streaking the Lawn reported. Redshirt freshman Dan Mahan ran the offense for the rest of the half, and his four series netted 36 yards on 15 plays, all ending in punts, according to the AP account carried by NBC Sports. Virginia scored 13 points in that stretch, but only seven came on a touchdown, a Jekail Middlebrook run. Middlebrook finished with 117 yards on 24 carries. Virginia outgained Duke 353-327 and held the ball for 38:47. Bettridge also missed a 47-yard try in the third quarter. Gavin Strange's two 39-yard field goals for Duke made it 13-13 with 8:50 left.

Sheppard finished with 55 rushing yards on 15 carries, most of them on his opening touchdown run. Pribula completed 15 of 24 passes for 158 yards.

What it means for next week

The win moves Duke to 5-2 overall and 2-2 in the ACC. Its two losses, 28-25 at Georgia Tech and 24-20 to North Carolina, came by a combined seven points, so its record could easily look better than it does. Next is Boston College, at home on Oct. 31. The Eagles are 3-3 and 1-2 in league play. Miami (4-0), Wake Forest (4-1) and SMU (3-1) lead the conference standings. Duke has little margin left if it wants to return to the ACC title game, which it won last season in overtime against these same Cavaliers. Eget's hand will be the main thing to watch this week.

Virginia's road is harder. The Cavaliers are 4-4 and 2-3 in the ACC after losing three of their last four games. Their offense has been the problem. They have scored 16 and 13 points in the last two games, against Duke and at No. 24 SMU. Before that came a 28-25 win over Syracuse and a 38-7 loss at Florida State. The defense played well enough to win on Friday, but Virginia now goes to No. 17 Wake Forest (6-1, 4-1 ACC) on Oct. 31. To win there, the Cavaliers will have to turn long drives into touchdowns more often than they did against Duke.