Duke ends skid at Virginia as Nate Sheppard's trick-play pass wins it 19-16

Duke's offense spent most of Friday night in Charlottesville getting stopped. Then it found a play Virginia wasn't ready for. With 1:14 left and the Blue Devils down 16-13, quarterback Walker Eget threw a backward pass to running back Nate Sheppard, and Sheppard found Brody Keefe wide open for the touchdown that won it 19-16 at Scott Stadium. The Associated Press scored the throw at 28 yards. Duke's defense finished it when Patrick Smith-Young intercepted Beau Pribula on the Cavaliers' last snap.

The win ended a two-game losing streak, and both of those losses had come by a single score. That makes three straight games for Duke decided by four points or fewer. It wasn't a spur-of-the-moment call, either. Coach Manny Diaz told ESPN's Dana Boyle after the game that the staff set it up two plays earlier with a 13-yard pass from Eget to Sheppard on the left side, then saved the trick play for the winning chance. "We threw for the win," Diaz said, according to USA TODAY Sports.

Duke started fast. Duke Wire reported that Sheppard ran 32 yards for a touchdown on the opening drive. After that, Virginia's defense took over. The Cavaliers led 13-7 at halftime, with Will Bettridge kicking much of their offense. Gavin Strange made two 39-yard field goals for Duke after the break to tie it at 13 with 8:50 to go. Bettridge answered with a 30-yarder with three minutes left. Strange missed the extra point after Keefe's touchdown, which gave Virginia one last drive to tie, but the drive ended in Smith-Young's interception on a fourth-and-6 throw into Duke's pressure.

The Blue Devils also got a scare at quarterback. USA TODAY Sports reported that Eget missed time in the first half after a helmet hit his index finger. Backup Dan Mahan went 2 of 5 for 17 yards while he was out. Eget came back and finished 14 of 25 for 211 yards with an interception. Virginia held Sheppard to 55 yards on 15 carries, so his biggest gain of the night came on a pass.

What it means for Boston College

The result puts Duke at 5-2 and 2-2 in the ACC, and it stops a slide that had started to threaten the Blue Devils' conference season. The losses at Georgia Tech (28-25) and at home to North Carolina (24-20) were both close games that got away late. This time Duke was the team that made the late play. Through seven games, Duke has scored 209 points and allowed 112. The early-season blowouts of William & Mary and Stanford pad those numbers. Duke has been much tighter against conference opponents.

Next up is Boston College at home in Durham at noon ET on Saturday, Oct. 31, on The CW. The status of Eget's finger is worth watching this week. Duke needed its backup quarterback for part of Friday's game, and the offense has been inconsistent enough to make his health matter.

For Virginia, the loss drops the Cavaliers to 4-4 and 2-3 in the ACC. They have lost two straight after a 23-13 defeat at No. 24 SMU. Their defense has now given up 23 points or fewer in back-to-back losses, but the offense scored only 29 points across those two games. The schedule doesn't get easier: Virginia goes to No. 17 Wake Forest on Oct. 31 needing two wins in its last stretch to reach bowl eligibility.