DURHAM, N.C. — For nearly two hours on Saturday, lightning danced across the sky above Wallace Wade Stadium, trapping both the Duke Blue Devils and the Tulane Green Wave inside their respective locker rooms. But when the storms finally broke and the lights flickered back on, it was Nate Sheppard who provided the true, ground-shaking thunder.
In a grueling, weather-delayed season opener on September 5, 2026, Manny Diaz’s Blue Devils relied on a throwback, smash-mouth blueprint to ground the Green Wave in a 17-3 victory.
The story of the afternoon belonged entirely to Sheppard. The true sophomore running back turned into an absolute workhorse, carrying the ball a staggering 35 times for a career-high 227 yards and 2 touchdowns. With Duke’s passing attack looking out of sync under new starting quarterback Walker Eget—who managed just 131 yards through the air—Sheppard put the offense on his back and ran straight through the heart of the Tulane defense.
“We knew we had to set the tone physically,” Sheppard said after the game. His relentless effort didn’t just secure a win; it earned him Doak Walker National Running Back of the Week honors.
For Tulane, the debut under head coach Will Hall was a frustrating exercise in self-inflicted wounds. The Green Wave offense was entirely suffocated on the ground, held to a miserable 54 rushing yards. Desperate for a spark, Hall benched starting quarterback Zeon Chriss-Gremillion at halftime in favor of Kadin Semonza.
While Semonza provided a temporary aerial boost, throwing for 140 yards in the second half, the Green Wave simply couldn’t stop shooting themselves in the foot. Tulane was flagged a staggering 15 times for 109 penalty yards, routinely stalling any momentum they managed to build.
When the Green Wave did threaten, they ran directly into a Blue Devil wall. Led by defensive end Bryce Davis, who wreaked havoc in the backfield with two sacks and three tackles for loss, Duke’s defense refused to bend. They pitched a shutout for more than 55 minutes, finally surrendering a lonely, late fourth-quarter field goal long after the game’s outcome had been decided.
The definitive blow came late in the fourth quarter. With Tulane desperately trying to climb back into the game, Duke leaned on Sheppard one last time. The sophomore broke through the line for a 9-yard touchdown run, capping off his historic day, exhausting the clock, and securing a gritty 1-0 start to the Manny Diaz era.