Featured image: Wallace Wade Stadium at Duke University, shown before a 2018 game (file photo). Photo: User:B, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Duke running back Nate Sheppard ran for five touchdowns as the Blue Devils routed Boston College 47-2 on Saturday, Oct. 31, at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C. The Boston College Duke result ended the Eagles’ two-game winning streak, dropped them to 4-4 and 2-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and made Duke bowl eligible at 6-2.
Sheppard’s record day against Boston College
Sheppard carried 20 times for 97 yards and scored on runs of 1, 2, 54, 4 and 1 yards, according to the ESPN game log. It was the first five-rushing-touchdown game in Duke program history, the Duke fan site Ball Durham reported, citing the Duke football program. The sophomore now has 14 rushing touchdowns this season, tying Duke’s single-season record, and 18 total touchdowns, a new school record.
Quarterback Walker Eget completed 11 of 18 passes for 201 yards and threw a 5-yard touchdown to Jeremiah Hasley late in the second quarter. Duke added field goals of 41 and 24 yards in the fourth quarter. Duke led 27-2 at halftime and 41-2 after Sheppard’s fifth score in the third quarter.
Boston College’s only points came in the first quarter, when a botched snap on a Duke extra point led to a block and Carter Davis returned it for a defensive two-point conversion. Davis also intercepted a pass, according to the Boston College game center.
BC’s offense stalls after a breakout week
The Eagles came to Durham after their best rushing day under coach Bill O’Brien. They ran for 399 yards and gained 500 in total in a 49-27 win at Georgia Tech, as covered in TBR’s recap of that game. Before kickoff, O’Brien called Duke “one of the best defenses in the country,” Boston.com reported.
Duke’s defense backed that up. Quarterback Mason McKenzie completed 9 of 17 passes for 87 yards and ran 13 times for 24 yards. Femi Babalola and Grayson Wilson also threw passes. BC converted 2 of 13 third downs, failed on all four fourth-down tries and lost two fumbles. The Eagles were also flagged 15 times for 129 yards.
By the numbers: a 67-point swing in a week
Duke outgained Boston College 382 yards to 213 and had 21 first downs to BC’s 14, according to the ESPN box score. BC’s 78 rushing yards came on 33 carries, an average of 2.4 per carry.
The week-to-week drop was steep. By TBR’s calculation, BC’s rushing total fell by 321 yards, or 80%, from the Georgia Tech game, and its total offense fell by 287 yards, or 57%. The Eagles went from a 22-point win to a 45-point loss, a 67-point swing in margin.
Saturday set season extremes on both sides of the ball. BC’s 2 points were its fewest of 2026; its previous low was 14 against Virginia Tech. Duke’s 47 points were the most BC has allowed this season, topping the 34 it gave up at Cincinnati in the opener. Through eight games, BC has scored 173 points and allowed 212, a deficit of 39, by TBR’s calculation from ESPN results.
Series history and BC’s bowl math
The teams were meeting for the first time since 2022, when Duke won 38-31 in Chestnut Hill. Boston College entered with a 5-4 lead in the all-time series, according to Duke’s game notes, so the series is now tied 5-5. Duke entered the day 3-1 at home, with its only loss in Durham coming against North Carolina. Under coach Manny Diaz, the win gave Duke at least six victories for a fifth consecutive season, a streak Duke had reached only once before, from 1932 to 1941, according to the notes.
At 4-4, Boston College needs two more wins in its final four games to reach six and qualify for a bowl. The Eagles host Florida State at Alumni Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7, then visit Notre Dame on Nov. 14, host Syracuse on Nov. 21 and finish at Miami on Nov. 28. TBR previewed this trip in its look ahead to the Georgia Tech game, when BC was 3-3.
Sources
- ESPN: Boston College at Duke game log and box score, Oct. 31, 2026
- Boston College Athletics: Football at Duke game center
- Ball Durham: Nate Sheppard sets single-season Duke TD record vs. Boston College
- Boston.com: BC’s running game broke out, but up next is Duke
- Duke Athletics: Game notes, Boston College at Duke
- The Chronicle: First-half observations, Duke vs. Boston College
Additional sources
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