Duke 31, Illinois 27: Instant takeaways

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Duke used a massive second-half effort from its defense, a coming-out party by Walker Eget and another classic game by Nate Sheppard to walk out of Champaign with a 31-27 victory over Illinois.

Here are some instant takeaways from the road victory for Manny Diaz’s squad.

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1. Walker Eget will be just fine

The San Jose State transfer didn’t look good in the season-opening win against Tulane, completing just 13-of-26 passes for 131 yards.

Against the Illini, he finished 15-of-21 for 206 yards and three touchdowns. Much more than that, he looked more comfortable and was able to find open receivers for huge gains. While he was limping at the end of the game (coming out for a third down), he played well enough to make the Illini respect the passing game.

2. Nate Sheppard should be in the Heisman conversation

It’s not the fact that he runs the ball so well, but how he does it. Take, for instance, this run that helped set up a 3-yard touchdown by him.

Not many players can make that many would-be tacklers miss, nor can many be as versatile as Sheppard, who ended the game with 188 total yards and three touchdowns. 

3. The defense has improved

It wasn’t pretty in the first half, as the combination of Katin Houser and Collin Dixon was good for three touchdowns. However, when the game was on the line in the fourth quarter, Duke’s defense stopped the Illini on two 4th-down attempts, while Evan Smith came up with a huge interception. 

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