CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (Interstat) — Duke defeated Virginia 19-16 in an NCAA Football Bowl Division game at Scott Stadium on Friday, using a late touchdown pass from Nate Sheppard to Brody Keefe to secure the road victory before an attendance of 45,138. Duke improved to 5-2, while Virginia fell to 4-4. The Blue Devils stayed close throughout and made the decisive play in the final minutes after the Cavaliers had pulled even.

Walker Eget was Duke’s top star, completing 14 of 25 passes for 211 yards. The Santa Clarita, California, native and 6-foot-3, 200-pound quarterback helped the Blue Devils move the ball through the air while Duke mixed in a productive running game. Eget had recently completed 24 of 38 passes for 249 yards and one touchdown against North Carolina and 26 of 41 passes for 259 yards and one touchdown with 11 rushing yards and another score against Georgia Tech. Against Virginia, his completion totals and yardage helped Duke sustain drives, and Sheppard provided the decisive throw on a trick play late in the fourth quarter.

Virginia quarterback Beau Pribula completed 15 of 24 passes for 158 yards and added 66 rushing yards on 21 carries. Jekail Middlebrook led the Cavaliers on the ground with 24 carries for 117 yards and one touchdown, and he also caught two passes for 8 yards. John Rogers caught five passes for 65 yards, Dakota Twitty had three receptions for 41 yards, Da’Shawn Martin added two catches for 22 yards, Jacquon Gibson had two for 14 yards and Isaiah Robinson had one for 8 yards. Xavier Brown ran once for 10 yards, Xay Davis had five carries for 2 yards and Solomon Beebe returned one kickoff for 23 yards. Josiah Abdullah had one punt return for 7 yards.

Duke’s Sheppard finished with 15 carries for 55 yards and one rushing touchdown, two receptions for 11 yards, and completed his only pass for 28 yards and the late score. Jonah Burton caught four passes for 59 yards, Keefe had three receptions for 48 yards and one touchdown, Jaivon Solomon had three catches for 48 yards, Jared Richardson had four for 47 yards and Jake Taylor had one for 43 yards. CJ Campbell Jr. ran once for 12 yards and returned one kickoff for 33 yards. Dan Mahan completed two of five passes for 17 yards and ran twice for 5 yards.

The scoring began in the first quarter when Sheppard ran 32 yards for a Duke touchdown with 10:59 remaining, and Gavin Strange made the extra point. Virginia answered with 3:05 left in the first when Middlebrook scored on a 1-yard run and Will Bettridge made the extra point. In the second quarter, Bettridge made a 21-yard field goal with 9:06 remaining. In the third quarter, Strange made a 39-yard field goal with 12:22 remaining. Virginia’s Bettridge attempted a 47-yard field goal with 4:33 left in the third, but it was no good. In the fourth, Strange made another 39-yard field goal with 8:50 remaining. Bettridge then made a 30-yard field goal with about 3 minutes left. Duke responded when Sheppard connected with Keefe on a 28-yard touchdown pass with 1:14 remaining, and Strange’s extra-point attempt failed, leaving the final score at 19-16.

Duke’s defense got pressure from Kobe Smith, who had six tackles and one sack, and Tyshon Reed, who had five tackles, one sack and two quarterback hurries. Nick Morris Jr. made 11 tackles, DaShawn Stone had nine, Patrick Smith-Young had eight tackles and an interception, and Owen Wafle and Luke Mergott each made seven tackles. Virginia’s defense was led by Christian Ellis with six tackles, while Montino Williams had five tackles and one quarterback hurry, Justin Ross had five tackles, Jaylen Jones had four tackles and Maddox Marcellus had four tackles. Kam Robinson had two tackles, one sack and one interception. Landon Danley had four tackles and one quarterback hurry, Matthew Fobbs-White had two tackles and one quarterback hurry, Darrion Henry-Young had one tackle and one quarterback hurry, and Justin Townsend and Nnanna Anyanwu each had one quarterback hurry. Daniel Sparks punted five times for 281 yards. Elijah Slibeck, Josiah Persinger, Sichan John, Donavon Platt, Jacobie Henderson, Fisher Camac, Kervins Choute and Anthony Britton also recorded tackles for Virginia.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Virginia 35, Duke 31. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Duke with a 53.3 percent probability to win. Virginia had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -2.5. The over/under line was 47.5, and the total score was 35.