Tulane Green Wave at Duke Blue Devils

Sheppard runs for 227 yards, 2 TDs to help Duke beat Tulane 17-3 in season opener for both teams

Sheppard powered the Blue Devils all day, starting when he weaved through the right side for a 9-yard TD in the first quarter — capping a 17-play, 75-yard drive lasting nearly 10 minutes. That would set the tone for Duke's run-heavy approach behind the sophomore, who ran for 1,132 yards and 11 touchdowns last year to help the Blue Devils win their first outright Atlantic Coast Conference championship since 1962.

“It’s credit to the (offensive) line and the tight ends, they were working their butts off today,” Sheppard said. “They made it happen, they were opening up the holes. And then it’s me at the second and third level just making dudes miss and breaking tackles.”

Sheppard carried the ball 35 times along with tallying three catches for 19 yards.

His second TD came at a critical point, with the Blue Devils holding to a 10-3 fourth-quarter lead. Sheppard cracked the 200-yard mark on what would become a 12-play, 75-yard scoring march taking nearly 7 minutes off the clock, ending when he broke around the left side for the pylon and a 14-yard score with 6:44 left.

“It's an identity win in terms of how we play to our strengths,” Duke coach Manny Diaz said. “We knew who we were. We were able to impose our will on a football team, with them on both lines of scrimmage.”

Tulane struggled in its debut under Will Hall, the former Southern Mississippi head coach who was elevated to this job from the Green Wave's offensive staff after Jon Sumrall left for Florida. But the Green Wave managed 258 total yards and converted 3 of 14 third downs on a day when they switched from starting quarterback Zeon Chriss-Gremillion to Kadin Semonza at halftime in search of a spark.

“Most of it can be fixed, but it’s got to be fixed," Hall said. “It’s got to be fixed on Monday, and it’s going to be fixed on Monday."

The kickoff was delayed by 90 minutes due to severe weather. Tulane won last year's meeting 34-27 at home.

The takeaway Tulane: The Green Wave, who reached the College Football Playoff last year, have plenty to clean up. In addition managing just 54 yards rushing, Tulane committed 15 penalties for 104 yards — including a pass-interference call on third down that extended the drive on Sheppard's second score and multiple flags that negated quality gains.

Duke: The Blue Devils haven't hid their plan to lean on Sheppard. As expected, he ran with a physical edge, including one play in which he bounced off multiple hits and came to the sideline with blood flowing from his nose. But Duke got little out of its passing game behind new starting quarterback Walker Eget, so the Blue Devils will have to figure out how to better complement Sheppard's churning legs.

Passing concerns Duke entered with its fourth starting quarterback in as many seasons with Eget, a San Jose State graduate transfer coming off a serious knee injury. He threw for just 131 yards on 13-for-26 passing, frequently missing targets while also having reliable tight end Jeremiah Hasley unable to bring in a good throw for a short TD shortly before halftime.

“We're going to get better in the passing game,” Diaz said. “We’re going to get more in sync.”

Sputter-filled night This marked the first time Tulane had failed to score a touchdown since falling at Auburn 24-6 in September 2019.

“The penalties, the lack of execution, the drops — I mean, we just had a lot of really good football players that have shown to be good leading up to this that weren’t themselves tonight,” Hall said. “That’s on me as the head coach.”

Up next Tulane: South Alabama visits the Green Wave next Saturday.

Duke: The Blue Devils travel to Illinois in the the Big Ten next Saturday.

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