Syracuse, NY – A commanding second quarter and record-setting performance by Nate Sheppard led Duke past Syracuse 38-3 on Saturday inside the JMA Wireless Dome. The Blue Devils got a career-high 168 rushing yards, the fourth most by a Duke freshman in program history, and two touchdowns from Sheppard, who ended the game with 11.2 yards per rush, the most by a Duke freshman in a single game on a minimum of 15 rushing attempts.
Duke (3-2, 2-0 ACC) forced two fumbles and intercepted a pass while playing turnover-free football for the second consecutive contest. Quarterback Darian Mensah kept the offense moving, throwing for 268 yards and two touchdowns while completing 22-of-28 passes. Graduate wide receiver Cooper Barkate hauled in two scoring strikes from Mensah in the second quarter.
Sheppard finished the game with 201 all-purpose yards, which tied for fifth most by a freshman in a game. He now leads Duke with 356 ground yards this season.
Duke held Syracuse without a touchdown, highlighted by a fourth-down stop inside the five-yard line in the final seconds, to secure a 35-point margin of victory in an ACC game for the first time since defeating Virginia Tech, 45-10, during the 2019 season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After Caleb Weaver ended Syracuse’s opening drive with an interception he returned 40 yards, Duke took a 3-0 lead with a Todd Pelino 22-yard field goal with 9:42 remaining in the first quarter.
- Syracuse (3-2, 1-1 ACC) answered with a field goal of its own at 4:10 in the first to knot the contest at 3-3.
- From there, however, the rest of the first half belonged to Duke.
- The Blue Devils took a 10-3 lead just 58 seconds after Syracuse tied the game with a 49-yard explosion from Nate Sheppard.
- Two receiving scores from Cooper Barkate, covering 34 and 12 yards, made the Duke lead 24-3 at the half.
- The first Barkate score was set up by Jaiden Francois forcing an Orange fumble that freshman Bradley Gompers recovered.
- Sheppard added his second score of the game at 5:34 remaining in the third quarter to push Duke’s advantage to 31-3.
- Duke converted a Syracuse turnover on downs into its final score of the game as Anderson Castle punched it in from 13 yards away at 11:04 in the fourth.
- The Blue Devils’ defense held strong on the final possession, coming up with a fourth-down stop from inside the five-yard line with less than 10 seconds remaining, holding Syracuse without a touchdown and capping the 38-3 victory.
UP NEXT
Duke travels to Cal for a 10:30 p.m. kick next Saturday on ESPN.