Duke Blue Devils at Illinois Fighting Illini

Nate Sheppard scores 3 TDs, Duke rallies to beat Illinois 31-27 for its sixth straight win

The victory was the sixth straight for the defending ACC champion Blue Devils in a streak that dates back to November 22, 2025, when they beat North Carolina 32-25.

Duke (2-0) fell behind 24-14 in the second quarter and was down 24-21 at halftime. The Blue Devils never trailed again after taking a 28-24 lead in the third quarter.

Walker Eget was 15 of 21 passing for 206 yards and three scores for Duke despite suffering a leg injury when he was sacked by Will Holmes in the fourth quarter. Eget returned to the game.

Sheppard, an early Heisman Trophy candidate, said Duke isn't a one-man show on offense.

“We have good receivers, a good quarterback, and our tight end (Jeremiah Hasley) is one of the best in the country,” he said.

Collin Dixon caught three touchdown passes and set career highs for receptions and yardage for Illinois (1-1), with 11 catches for 166 yards.

Katin Houser was 24 of 35 passing for 271 yards and three touchdowns for the Illini, but had a critical interception in the fourth quarter. Ca’Lil Valentine rushed for 56 yards.

The Illini are searching for answers after their first two games.

“We've got to look at everything that's caused us issues,” said Illinois coach Bret Bielema. "Before you can move forward, you have to understand why you fell back."

Houser completed his first five passes, including a 13-yard scoring catch by Dixon, who was wide open on a 40-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-and-one play in the second quarter.

Illinois kicker Ethan Moczulski booted two field goals. His 51-yarder in the first quarter barely sailed over the crossbar.

The Takeaway Illinois’ defense allowed UAB to rack up 413 yards and possess the ball for 41 minutes last week in a 42-23 Illini victory. Poor tackling and the transition to a new 3-5-5 defensive alignment were the big reasons for the leaky defense. The defense wasn’t much better against Duke, which compiled 376 yards. Sheppard was left uncovered in the flat on his first TD catch.

Duke gave up just 54 yards rushing, 258 total yards and 10 first downs last week in a 17-3 win over Tulane. The numbers were different against Illinois thanks mainly to Houser and Dixon, but the Illini scored just three points in the second half. Illinois had 382 total yards and 23 first downs.

That’s it Two streaks ended Saturday. Illinois had won 19 straight games when it led at halftime since 2024, and it had won 10 nonconference games in a row in a streak that began in 2023.

Rush hour Sheppard is on quite a roll. He averaged nearly 132 yards rushing per game and ran for six TDs during Duke’s first five victories on its winning streak. He had 227 yards rushing in the Blue Devils’ win over Tulane, the fifth-most in a game in Duke history.

Oh, brother Eget is a transfer from San Jose State, where he threw for 5,555 yards the last two seasons. His older brothers, Weston and Wyatt, were also college QBs. Weston was at New Mexico State from 2019-22. Wyatt played for five schools from 2016-21.

Up Next Duke hosts Stanford on Sept. 19

Illinois hosts Southern Illinois on Sept. 19.

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