Duke RB Nate Sheppard, the nation's rushing leader, questionable for North Carolina

Duke could be without the most productive running back in the country when North Carolina visits Durham on Saturday. Sophomore Nate Sheppard is listed as questionable on the ACC's first availability report for the Victory Bell game, ClutchPoints reported. Center Matt Craycraft and Evan Smith are also questionable, according to The Fayetteville Observer.

It is hard to overstate how much of the Duke offense runs through Sheppard. In five games he has 743 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 118 carries, plus 17 catches for 161 yards and three more scores. ClutchPoints notes that his 148.6 rushing yards and 180.8 all-purpose yards per game both lead the nation. His 11 touchdowns are a big share of the 170 points Duke has scored so far.

Duke has not said what the injury is. Speaking after the Georgia Tech game, though, Sheppard confirmed he had played through an ankle injury in that loss, On3's Devils Illustrated reported, and he told the outlet, "I'm good to go." The ACC posts updated availability reports each evening before game day, and the final one comes two hours before kickoff, so his status could change more than once before Saturday.

North Carolina has questions of its own. Keeping It Heel reported that star safety Greg Smith is questionable after appearing on the report for the first time this season. Starters Isaiah Johnson and Jordan Hall are also questionable, defensive back Kaleb Cost is doubtful after his injury at Pittsburgh, and Tre Miller is out.

What it means for Saturday

Duke (4-1, 1-1 ACC) is coming off its first loss, a 28-25 defeat at Georgia Tech in which the Blue Devils took a late lead, gave up the go-ahead touchdown and then missed a field goal that would have tied it. Before that they had won four straight by a combined 145-44. Their scoring margin through five games is 170-72, about 34 points scored and 14 allowed per game.

North Carolina (3-2, 1-1) arrives off a 21-17 win at No. 25 Pittsburgh. Its two losses came against Clemson and No. 3 Notre Dame, and its season scoring margin is a much tighter 117-95. Duke has held the Victory Bell since 2024. Kickoff is 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

The board for the game covers 12 venues, and Duke is favored across them. Novig has the Blue Devils at -3.5 (+106) and -153 on the moneyline. The best Duke moneyline price anywhere is -150 at theScore Bet, and DraftKings has the best spread price at -3 (-115). North Carolina is +144 at Novig. The total is 47.5 at Novig, with the over at -100, while BetRivers has 46.5 at -122. The venues sit close together on this game. The moneyline gap on Duke is only three cents, and sportsbook hold runs from 3.5% to 6.7% across the markets.

Those numbers are a one-score margin for a team whose offense leans heavily on one player. Friday's report should show whether Duke gets him back.