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Duke has been a strong fourth-quarter team the past two years.
Then, again, so has Illinois.
Something had to give Saturday as the Blue Devils and Fighting Illini took a tight, tense game into the final quarter at Gies Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.
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Duke emerged with 31-27 victory in the ACC versus Big Ten matchup on a day when the Blue Devils offense was on point and the defense recovered from a shaky first half with sounder, tougher play in the second, making some pivotal fourth-down stops.
Evan Smith’s interception for Duke with 7:21 left in the fourth period derailed one Illinois drive. Moments later, Duke quarterback Walker Eget was injured on a passing play and had to leave the game as the Blue Devils punted.
But the Duke defense again made the big play. Cornerback Kyon Loud broke up a pass with 2:54 remaining. Eget led the Duke offense back on the field to close it out, running back Nate Sheppard converting a fourth-down play on his final carry of the game as the Blue Devils were able to run out the clock.
“That’s a great, great road win against a really good Big Ten opponent,” Duke coach Manny Diaz said. “It went about the way we felt it would. We knew it was going to be a Duke-type game where it was going to be won in the fourth quarter.”
The Blue Devils’ defense, so stout in the season opener against Tulane, was more vulnerable Saturday. Illini quarterback Katin Houser, the transfer from East Carolina, hurt the Devils with accurate timing throws and often looked the way of senior receiver Collin Dixon, who had three touchdown grabs.
Houser, who played the past two seasons at ECU, finished 24 of 35 for 271 yards with the three touchdowns and the one pick for Illinois (1-1), which beat UAB in its opener.
Sheppard, coming off his 35-carry, 227-yard game in the opener against Tulane, finished with 147 yards on 24 carries and a TD against the Illini and also had a team-high five receptions for 41 yards and two scores.
The sophomore also was a part of special-teams trickery in the second quarter, taking a direct snap on a fake punt and going 15 yards for a first down.
“It felt like we needed a little something at that moment,” Diaz said. “We were down by 10 (17-7), facing a punt, and we were not stopping them on defense and the game could have gotten a little away from us.”
Eget was smoother in his play and sharper with his passing in his second game. But the transfer from San Jose State left the game with 6:45 left in the fourth quarter after being sacked and fumbling.
Eget had knee surgery after last season and was favoring his right leg as he was helped off the field to the medical tent. Freshman Dan Mahan entered the game, but Eget was able to return.
Eget finished 15-of-21 passing for 206 yards and three TDs, the first on a diving catch by wide receiver Jonah Burton.
The Illini went to Durham a year ago and took a 45-19 win over the Blue Devils, igniting for 31 second-half points. There would be no breakaway Saturday in a physical game that had a number of penalties.
The Blue Devils trailed 24-14 in the first half but maintained their poise despite some serious noise from Illini fans. Duke scored late in the first half — Sheppard with a 7-yard reception from Eget — and then took the second-half kickoff and scored again for a 28-24 lead on a 3-yard pass to Sheppard.
“That was a huge part of the game and we kind of took control after that,” Diaz said.
After Cosme Salas’ 39-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, the Duke lead was 31-27 and had Diaz bouncing along the sideline, clapping and excited, urging on his team.
The Blue Devils’ defense, more effective in the second half, made a big stop with 9:38 left in the fourth. Houser could not connect with Dixon on a fourth-and-2 play at the Duke 18.
Then came Smith’s interception at the Duke 36 that the transfer from Northwestern returned 19 yards.
Here are the top observations from the game
The Blue Devils hit the portal and rebuilt their secondary after last season, after being burned too many times.
All went well in the opener against Tulane week. The Devils played fast, made some booming hits and got the job done in holding the Green Wave without a touchdown in a 17-3 win.
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It helped that the defensive front maintained pressure on the Tulane quarterbacks. It also helped that Tulane hurt itself with some penalties.
But it was all so different in the firat half against Illinois. The Devils were facing a quarterback in Houser with a quick release. They were facing a wide receiver in Dixon that consistently was able to get open.
Dixon had three touchdown catches in the first half – and 119 yards on eight catches – and could have had a fourth TD in the half, running free on a deep route only to have Houser overthrow him.
“They’re tearing us up,” Diaz told the Blue Devils radio network at halftime.
Said safety Andrew Pellicciotta, who had a team-high 11 tackles: “We came out after halftime like ‘just be us’ and play with an edge. The biggest thing was our mindset in the second (half). We simplified a little bit, but I think it was the mindset.”
Dixon had a few catches but no explosive plays in the second half and the Illini just three points.
“At halftime, sometimes you have to have adjustments about doing something different. Sometimes, halftime adjustments are just about doing something better,” Diaz said. “There might have been a little bit different, but it mainly was just better, I thought.
“A big part of it was to stop playing with fear. We were giving them too much space, too much credit. They’re really good. But we were tentative, and I felt like we just cut it loose and let it go in the second half.”
The Illini got a break in the second quarter when safety Matthew Bailey was initially called for targeting but was not ejected from the game.
Duke running back C.J. Campbell was completing a run and was down when Bailey came in low and put a helmet-to-helmet hit on Campbell with 10:44 left in the quarter. The flags came in and the play was reviewed. The crowd groaned when replays were shown in the stadium, as if certain of the outcome.
But no targeting was called on Bailey, the Illini’s leading tackler the past two years. Keeping him in the game was fortuitous for the Illini.
Bailey made a big hit on Sheppard in the second half, hopping up and pounding his chest.
What’s the best way to stop Duke’s Nate Sheppard? Can you? A lot of defensive coordinators will gnash their teeth trying to find a way this season – on Saturday the job of Bobby Hauck, the Illinois first-year defensive coordinator.
On a first-half play Saturday, Sheppard took a handoff, broke a tackle, broke another, broke a third, a fourth and rumbled 19 yards to the Illinois 2 to set up a touchdown – by Sheppard, naturally.
Sheppard also has shown he can be dangerous slipping out of the backfield and catching the ball. Eget twice hit Sheppard on short TD throws – the second, early in a third quarter, gave Duke a 28-24 lead.
The Illini twice grabbed Sheppard’s face mask in making tackles. That might be a last resort.
Duke’s Eget looked a lot more comfortable operating the offense Saturday than he did against Tulane.
Eget was off target on several throws against the Green Wave, including at least three that could have gone for scores. The plays were there to be made but he didn’t, couldn’t make them in his first start for the Blue Devils.
On the plus side, Eget did not have a turnover in the opener. Despite the misfires, he was efficient enough in the 17-3 win.
Eget had a few more throws that went awry Saturday. But he appeared more decisive and confident, had time to throw, and his receivers made some plays for him.
There was the scary moment late in the game when he went down and was in pain. But he did return to the game.
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This story was originally published September 12, 2026 at 7:15 PM.