DOMINATION
Duke rout over Boston College sets Blue Devils up for make-or-break November
Duke Blue Devils quarterback Walker Eget (2) throws a pass during the first quarter against the Boston College Eagles at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham on Saturday.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Duke football ended the month of October the opposite way it started it.
With back-to-back wins. After dropping contests to Georgia Tech and UNC, the Blue Devils (6-2, 3-2 ACC) closed October with consecutive victories, first against Virginia in Week 8 and then with Saturday's 47-2 rout of Boston College at Wallace Wade Stadium.
The win secured bowl eligibility for a fifth straight season and gave Duke consecutive October victories for the first time since 2015.
More importantly, it gave the Blue Devils something to carry into November.
"That was a treat right there," coach Manny Diaz said. "That's maybe as complete of a performance that we've had in the 2.5 years that I've been here."
Duke dominated in all three phases against a Boston College team coming off a 49-point, 399-yard rushing performance against Georgia Tech the week before.
The Blue Devils held the Eagles out of the end zone and limited them to 213 total yards, including just 78 rushing yards, while recording a season-high 11 tackles for loss and six sacks. Boston College went a combined 2-for-17 on third and fourthdown tries, with its first conversion of the day coming from third-and-1 midway through the third quarter.
"There's very little I can say that we didn't do outstanding on defense today," Diaz said. "They were terrific."
The Eagles' two points came from a two-point conversion it ran back in the first quarter after a bad hold caused Gavin Strange to miss an extra-point attempt.
"My heart is broken that the scoreboard doesn't say zero and that it says two," Diaz said. "It is a shutout to them, but unfortunately to the stats, it's not counted as a shutout, but that's a Duke shutout.
Duke's offense was just as productive. Sophomore running back Nate Sheppard scored five rushing touchdowns, setting a program record for the most rushing touchdowns by a Duke player in a single game. The Blue Devils finished with 47 points, their most against an FBS opponent this season, and were a perfect 7 of 7 in the red zone.
The 45-point victory was Duke's second-largest margin of victory in ACC play since joining the conference in 1953.
Now, the Blue Devils will look to carry that momentum into their final stretch of the season.
"Internally, it provides more evidence of what this team can be," Diaz said. "... I think the team has confidence that when they prepare like they did this week and everybody does their job and trusts their teammates. I keep saying with us, play fast play free. Don't worry about expectations. We start worrying about where we're gonna end up at the end of the year, that's what trips us up. We have to stay humble, and when we play fast, we're pretty good."
His players agree. "It's an amazing win going into November," defensive end Kobe Smith said. "I feel like this is the evidence that we need that we can shut a team out."
Duke has four regular-season games remaining, three of which will come on the road. The Blue Devils visit NC State on Nov. 7, Miami on Nov. 14 and Wake Forest on Nov. 28. Their only home game in November comes against Clemson on Friday, Nov. 20.
The reigning ACC champions know the stakes.
"We say nobody really cares what you do August through October; November is where it really happens," Sheppard said. "That's what we've got to do."
