The Duke Blue Devils picked up a crucial victory over Virginia on Friday night.

The Blue Devils walked into Charlottesville on Friday night amid a two-game losing streak, needing a victory over a talented Cavaliers club to get back to .500 in league play. For the third straight week, the game came down to the final minutes. But this time, Duke was on the right side of the nail-biter.

Some late-game trickery from the Blue Devils, mixed with a highly productive second half from the Blue Devils' defense overall, put Duke in a position to win and emerge on the good side of a tight contest. This was a win that head coach Manny Diaz and his program desperately needed to get back on track heading into a favorable rest of the 2026 schedule.

Duke Struggles in First Half After Walker Eget Exits

Duke looked night and day offensively to start the game compared to what it looked like against North Carolina at Wallace Wade Stadium last weekend. The Blue Devils charged down the field, and Nate Sheppard found the end zone to put them on top 7-0. However, starting quarterback Walker Eget suffered a finger injury, which propelled redshirt freshman Dan Mahan into the starting role for the rest of the first half.

The Blue Devils struggled to find any sort of offensive rhythm for the remainder of the half. After that opening score, Duke punted on all of its remaining drives through the first two quarters, heading into the halftime locker room in a 13-7 deficit.

Eget returned in the second half, and he made some big throws late to keep the Blue Devils alive.

Nate Sheppard Held in Check

Nate Sheppard was still impactful, but the Cavaliers did as good a job as any team has so far this season at containing the superstar running back. The sophomore ended the night with 55 rushing yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, along with two catches for 11 yards.

Interestingly, Duke seemed to be a bit more pass-happy in the second half, but Sheppard's night ended with a...game-winning passing touchdown?

Late-Game Trickery

Diaz and his staff pulled out some magic at the end of the game, using a trick play that resulted in Sheppard throwing a touchdown to true freshman wide receiver Brody Keefe to take the lead with just over a minute to play.

The Blue Devils got it done and head home with some momentum.