4 winners and 2 losers from Duke's upset win over Illinois on the road in Week 2

You called us crazy, but we sounded the alarm bells all week long that Duke was ripe for a road upset in Week 2 at Illinois.

Manny Diaz and the Blue Devils got it done, taking down Illinois 31-27 to start the season at 2-0. The fact that the two wins came in revenge opportunities against teams that Duke lost to a year ago only makes it that much sweeter.

It's also sweet because this team was severely doubted in the preseason. After losing Darian Mensah in the Transfer Portal, everyone was ready to write Duke off. But rumors of their demise were greatly exaggerated.

The Blue Devils are legit.

Winner: Walker Eget

We'll lead the Walker Eget apology tour this week. We questioned after Week 1 whether Diaz needed to make an immediate QB change after the San Jose State transfer struggled mightily against Tulane. Much to our delight, Eget made us eat our words this week.

He was the steadying presence at QB that Duke thought they were getting when they landed him out of the Transfer Portal. He was the complement to Nate Sheppard and the ground game that Duke needed.

He completed 15-of-21 for 206 yards and three touchdowns in Duke's four-point win. That level of play will win this team a lot of games

Winner: Nate Sheppard

The best player on the football field was RB Nate Sheppard. He's going to be the best player on the field most weeks. There's not a RB in college football that Duke fans would trade him for.

Despite being the focal point of the Illinois game plan, Sheppard still managed 147 yards on 24 carries. He also caught five passes for 41 yards, scoring three total touchdowns for Duke.

Sheppard is just an unstoppable force. He makes the game easy for his teammates. All the disrespect in the preseason has clearly added some fuel to his fire, and Duke fans thank you for it.

Winner: Jonah Burton

Of the trio of transfer WRs that Duke added this offseason, Jonah Burton was the forgotten guy. Everyone assumed Jared Richardson and Javen Nicholas would lead the way. Instead, Burton has been the alpha through two weeks.

The Idaho State transfer caught four passes for 76 yards and a touchdown to lead Duke in receiving against Illinois. His TD reception was on a jump ball from Eget, and the Blue Devils' QB clearly has some trust in his transfer WR:

Winner: Evan Smith

Diaz knew it was pivotal to upgrade the secondary this offseason, and he brought in numerous players from the Transfer Portal to do so. One of those players came up with one of the plays of the game defensively.

Northwestern transfer Evan Smith came up with a clutch interception in the fourth quarter of Illinois QB Katin Houser:

It was far from a perfect day for the Duke secondary, but Smith came up with a critcal play in a huge moment.

Loser: Jared Richardson

For the second straight week, Penn transfer Jared Richardson was a total non-factor. He was expected to be the No. 1 option for Duke at WR this season, but he went catchless for a second game in a row. Unlike last week, Richardson didn't even receive a target.

There's still plenty of time for Richardson to make an impact, but his lack of involvement in the offense so far through two weeks has been crazy to see.

Loser: Duke's 1st half secondary

The first half looked an awful lot like the Duke team from last year. Houser and Illinois were lighting up the Blue Devils, getting points on all of their first-half possessions. Duke had no answer for Collin Dixon, who put up 11 catches for 166 yards and three scores, all three of which came in the first half.

Credit to Diaz and DC Jonathan Patke; Duke figured some things out in the second half and took everything away from Illinois. Duke only allowed three points in the second half.

But those issues in the first 30 minutes could come back to bite Duke down the road. Something to keep an eye on.

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