Duke quarterback Walker Eget had to leave the game for a bit after suffering what appeared to be a hand injury during Friday night's game against Virginia.
Though Eget would return in the second half, running back Nate Sheppard played the hero for the Blue Devils late, throwing a 28-yard touchdown pass to Brody Keefe to put Duke ahead for good at 19-16 at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia.
When speaking on the ESPN broadcast postgame, Duke head coach Manny Diaz confirmed that he and offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer set up Sheppard's pass two plays before the 2nd & 8 call.
"We said we want to play that, throw that for the win," Diaz said. "We threw it for the win."
The Duke defense responded in a big way after Sheppard's touchdown pass, with Patrick Smith-Young intercepting a Beau Pribula pass to shut the door on the Cavaliers.
Sheppard's touchdown pass capped a night where Duke had three players throw passes. Dan Mahan relieved Eget in the first half when Eget had his injury checked out. He went 2 of 5 passing for 17 yards.
Eget would finish the night going 14 of 25 passing for 211 yards and one interception.
Sheppard didn't have a big night on the ground for Duke. He finished the game with 55 yards and a score on 15 carries, though he did have a long run of 55 yards.
The story of the night for Duke was the defense. The Blue Devils only allowed Virginia to score three points in the second half. Pribula lost a fumble in addition to the interception.
The Blue Devils did allow the Cavaliers to have a strong rushing attack. Virginia gained a total of 195 yards on 53 carries. Jekail Middlebrook rushed 24 times for 117 yards and a score.
Overall, Friday night was a huge success for Diaz and the Blue Devils, who entered the game after two straight losses in the ACC to Georgia Tech and rival North Carolina. Duke improved to 5-2 overall and 2-2 in conference play.
Duke is now one game from being bowl eligible, which was a worry for the team after Darian Mensah transferred to Miami in the offseason.
The Blue Devils will next host a 3-3 Boston College squad on Halloween.
Duke might not be in contention to return to the ACC championship, but the program is more than exceeding expectations yet again.