Durham, NC—–Nate Sheppard wasted little time establishing himself as the centerpiece of Duke’s offense.
The sophomore running back rushed for a career-high 227 yards and two touchdowns on 35 carries, leading the Blue Devils to a 17-3 victory over Tulane on Saturday in a season opener that was delayed 90 minutes because of severe weather.
Duke repeatedly turned to Sheppard to control the game, and he delivered from the opening possession.
His first touchdown came during a marathon 17-play, 75-yard drive that consumed nearly 10 minutes. Sheppard broke through the right side of the line for a 9-yard touchdown, giving the Blue Devils an early lead and setting the tone for an offense determined to establish the run.
Sheppard continued to punish the Green Wave defense throughout the afternoon. He also caught three passes for 19 yards as Duke leaned heavily on its ground game.
“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.”
His biggest contribution came late.
With Duke clinging to a 10-3 advantage in the fourth quarter, Sheppard helped engineer another extended scoring drive. The Blue Devils marched 75 yards on 12 plays, draining nearly seven minutes from the clock before Sheppard finished the possession himself.
He broke toward the left side, reached the pylon and scored from 14 yards out with 6:44 remaining. The touchdown pushed Sheppard past the 200-yard rushing mark and gave Duke the breathing room it needed to close out the victory.
“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.”
The performance continued the momentum Sheppard helped create last season. He rushed for 1,132 yards and 11 touchdowns as Duke captured its first outright Atlantic Coast Conference championship since 1962.
While Sheppard was dominant, Duke’s passing attack had considerably less success.
New starting quarterback Walker Eget, a San Jose State graduate transfer returning from a significant knee injury, completed 13 of 26 passes for 131 yards. Several throws sailed away from intended targets, and tight end Jeremiah Hasley was unable to haul in a potential short touchdown before halftime.
“We’re going to get better in the passing game,” Diaz said. “We’re going to get more in sync.”
Tulane, meanwhile, struggled to generate consistent offense in its first game under coach Will Hall. Hall, previously the head coach at Southern Mississippi, moved into the Green Wave’s top job after Jon Sumrall departed for Florida.
Tulane finished with only 258 total yards and managed just 54 rushing yards. The Green Wave converted only 3 of 14 third-down opportunities and failed to find the end zone.
Hall also turned to Kadin Semonza at quarterback after halftime, replacing starter Zeon Chriss-Gremillion in an attempt to spark the offense.
The Green Wave compounded their offensive struggles with penalties. Tulane was flagged 15 times for 104 yards, including a pass-interference penalty on third down that extended the drive that ultimately ended with Sheppard’s second touchdown. Other penalties wiped away promising plays.
“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 loss marked Tulane’s first game without a touchdown since a 24-6 defeat at Auburn 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.”
The Takeaway
Tulane: The Green Wave have plenty to address following a disappointing offensive performance. After reaching the College Football Playoff last season, Tulane managed only 54 rushing yards, struggled on third down and repeatedly hurt itself with penalties.
Duke: The Blue Devils showed exactly what they want their offensive identity to be. Sheppard was physical and productive all game, routinely breaking tackles and creating yards after contact. However, Duke’s limited passing production means the offense will need to find more balance as the season progresses.
Up Next:
Tulane: The Green Wave return home next Saturday to host South Alabama.
Duke: The Blue Devils hit the road next Saturday for a matchup at Illinois, their first game against a Big Ten opponent.
