When Nate Sheppard broke to the right and scampered for a 32-yard touchdown early in the second quarter for his first of three touchdowns against Stanford, the superstar Duke RB hit the Heisman pose. And for good reason. Because after three games, Sheppard has played as well as any player in the country. Not just running backs. Anyone.
In Duke's 35-7 rout of Stanford on Saturday afternoon, Sheppard ran for 143 more yards and scored three touchdowns, stating his Heisman Trophy case and once again separating himself as the best RB in the country.
"I seen some other guys around the country hitting it early, so I said, why don't I join in on it a little bit?" Sheppard said about his Heisman pose.
For the second time in as many games, Sheppard had some extra motivation from an opposing player bumping his gums in the lead-up to the game. I suspect that will be a talking point for every opposing coach on Duke's schedule the rest of the way. Don't give this guy extra motivation.
“Nobody's going to run against our defense,” Stanford CB Brandon Nicholson said this week.
Nate Sheppard continues a dominant start to the 2026 season with another big day vs. Stanford
Sheppard is up to 528 yards on 82 carries with eight total touchdowns through three weeks. He won't be taken seriously yet as a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate, but there hasn't been a better player in college football this season than No. 20 for Duke.
Duke still found some balance against Stanford with Walker Eget throwing for 202 yards and a touchdown.
And a much-improved Duke defense still looked like one of the best in the ACC. Stanford mustered just 237 yards of offense and a touchdown in the 28-point win.
But make no mistake about it. The engine that starts the car every week for Duke is Sheppard. Every team has game-planned to stop him this season, but it hasn't mattered a bit. He doesn't need much room, but the Blue Devils' offensive line continues to give it to him. But when it isn't there, he's still making things happen.
Stanford doesn't have a good team, but they had done a nice job against the run in their first two games. Against Miami, they held Mark Fletcher to just 40 yards. They thought they could do the same against Sheppard, but quickly learned that the Duke superstar was a different animal altogether.
That's going to be a lesson that every team in the country learns as the season continues.
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