Duke rallies past Virginia in ACC thriller with late trick-play touchdown

For the second time in less than a year, Duke and Virginia found themselves locked in an ACC thriller that came down to the final minutes.

Once again, the Blue Devils came up with the decisive play.

This time, Manny Diaz's squad won it with some trickery as quarterback Walker Eget threw a backwards pass to running back Nate Sheppard, who then unleashed it downfield to freshman Brody Keefe, who was wide open in the end zone for the go-ahead, 28-yard touchdown with 1:14 remaining in the fourth quarter.

.@DukeFOOTBALL taking the lead with a little trickery 👀

📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/AZctuxOOuv

— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) October 24, 2026

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Speaking with ESPN's Dana Boyle after the win, Diaz said the trick play was intentionally set up by the Blue Devils two plays prior, on a 13-yard pass from Eget to Sheppard on the left side.

"We knew it was there. We actually talked about it," Diaz said. "... We said we wanted to play that (play) for the win. We threw for the win."

The Blue Devils would seal the 19-16 win with an interception from Patrick Smith-Young a handful of seconds later on a fourth-and-6 heave pass from Virginia quarterback Beau Pribula as Duke brought the pressure.

"We made the play at the end to win it and could not be more proud of our football team," Diaz said.

Duke briefly lost Eget in the first half after he took a hit with a helmet to his index finger. Blue Devils backup quarterback Dan Mahan completed 2 of 5 passes for 17 yards in his absence. Eget was 14 of 25 passing for 211 yards and an interception himself.

The Blue Devils move to 5-2 overall and 2-2 in ACC play with the win. Duke next hosts Boston College at noon ET on Saturday, Oct. 31 in Durham.