After back-to-back frustrating defeats that followed the same template, Duke flipped the script against Virginia on Friday night.
Duke lost to Georgia Tech and North Carolina in consecutive weeks in almost the exact same way: the offense scores a fourth-quarter touchdown to take the lead, the defense immediately gives the lead away, and then the offense comes up short on a final drive.
Against Virginia, it was a gutsy trick play green-lighted by Manny Diaz that saw Nate Sheppard loft a touchdown pass to Brody Keefe to give Duke a 19-16 lead with just over a minute to play. Then, the Blue Devils' defense stepped up and got the stop it needed to seal the win with Patrick Smith-Young intercepting a desperate heave by Beau Pribula.
Here are the biggest winners and one loser from Duke's three-point road win to improve to 5-2:
Winner: Walker Eget
We've got to take a moment to shout out Walker Eget, who really answered the bell for the Blue Devils on the road. After the last couple of weeks, there was some chatter about whether Eget was the right guy to lead this team forward at QB. He removed any doubt on Friday night.
Eget engineered a 78-yard touchdown drive in just four plays to open the game to give Duke a 7-0 edge. He then left the game because of a finger injury and didn't return until the third quarter. Duke's offense mustered nothing with him out of the game.
He gutted out the injury and led the Blue Devils to two second-half scoring drives. He hit some passes down the field that have been sorely missing from the offense and should open the door for more balance in the coming weeks.
Winner: Nate Sheppard
It was tough sledding for Sheppard against Virginia on the ground. After ripping off a 32-yard touchdown run on the first drive of the game, Sheppard was bottled up with Eget out of the game. On 14 additional carries, he added just 23 rushing yards to his total.
But when the game was on the line, Duke put the ball in Sheppard's hands, and his gravity led to the wide-open touchdown toss.
Two plays after Duke threw a swing pass out to Sheppard for a 13-yard gain, they ran what looked like the same play to the other side of the field. Instead, the pass from Eget was backwards, and Sheppard then hit Keefe for a 28-yard touchdown that proved to be the game-winner:
DOUBLE PASS FOR THE LEAD pic.twitter.com/BVNgxUQouk
— Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) October 24, 2026
Winner: Brody Keefe
It was only a matter of time before freshman WR Brody Keefe got a real opportunity. He was a standout all offseason long, and after a quiet start, he exploded onto the scene against Virginia.
He caught the first pass of the game from Eget and then was trusted to haul in the pass from Sheppard to win the game.
Keefe is a supremely talented young player who should continue to grow into a significant role for the offense as the season continues.
Winner: Che Ojarikre
If you were forced to predict who would lead Duke in sacks against Virginia, it would have taken you a dozen or more guesses to land on Ojarikre.
But the Stanford transfer timed up a couple of blitzes and got home on Pribula twice. He had two of Duke's five sacks in the three-point win.
Winner: Tyshon Reed
Reed continues to be a menace in the backfield. He created a ton of havoc, recording a sack and 1.5 tackles-for-loss. He also recovered a fumble in the first half to help swing some momentum back toward Duke's side of things.
Reed is constantly in the right place at the right time, stepping up and making plays for the Blue Devils' defense when they've got to be made.
Loser: Dan Mahan
A lot of fans have been clamoring for the second-year QB to get a real shot at leading the offense. He got that against Virginia with Eget going out after the first drive, and the results weren't great.
Virginia was never concerned about Mahan's ability to throw the ball downfield, and they stacked the box to take away Duke's run. In the four drives Mahan piloted before Eget returned to start the third quarter, the Blue Devils ran 15 plays and netted 36 total yards with only two first downs.
Mahan is a talented player, and his time will come down the line. But it's clear that Duke is better with Eget at QB, and any debate about that was put to rest in Charlottesville.
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