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Photo by: Duke Athletics
11/2/2026 2:05:00 PM | Football
DURHAM, N.C. – Duke running back Nate Sheppard received ACC Running Back of the Week accolades for his performance against Boston College on Saturday.
Sheppard now has five ACC weekly honors in his career (four running back and one rookie), tied with Leo Hart (1968-70) for the fifth most by a Blue Devil in a career. In addition, his three ACC player of the week accolades are tied for the third most in a year by a Blue Devil while his three running back of the week picks are tied with Roger Boone (1988) for the most offensive back (prior to the league splitting running backs and quarterbacks into separate awards) selections in a campaign. Sheppard's four career running back of the week picks are tied with Steve Jones (1970-72) for the third most offensive back selections in a career by a Blue Devil.
Sheppard rushed for 97 yards and five touchdowns and caught one pass for 32 yards in Duke's 47-2 victory against Boston College. He set the Duke single-game record with five rushing touchdowns against the Eagles with bursts of one, two, 54, four and one yards in helping Duke to a 47-2 victory. The 54 yard blast is the longest touchdown run of Sheppard's career.
Sheppard tallied three rushing touchdowns in the first half (1, 2 and 54 yards), becoming the first Blue Devil with a trio of rushing scores in a half since Gunnar Holmberg had three in the second half against Kansas on Sept. 25, 2021. The Mandeville, Louisiana, native became the first individual to have three rushing touchdowns in a half versus a Power Four opponent in 2026. The sophomore also became the eighth ACC player since 1996 to score five or more rushing TDs in a game.
With his five scores, Sheppard set the Duke single-season record with 18 TDs scored this fall. Sheppard is up to 30 career touchdowns scored, the third most in a career by a Blue Devil. He leads the FBS in points per game scored and total TDs scored so far this fall. Sheppard lifted his single-season rushing yardage total to 972 yards, the ninth most in a year in program history. Sheppard caught one pass to lift his season receptions total to 31, the 15th most in a year by a running back in program history.
Sheppard now has five ACC weekly honors in his career (four running back and one rookie), tied with Leo Hart (1968-70) for the fifth most by a Blue Devil in a career. In addition, his three ACC player of the week accolades are tied for the third most in a year by a Blue Devil while his three running back of the week picks are tied with Roger Boone (1988) for the most offensive back (prior to the league splitting running backs and quarterbacks into separate awards) selections in a campaign. Sheppard's four career running back of the week picks are tied with Steve Jones (1970-72) for the third most offensive back selections in a career by a Blue Devil.
Sheppard rushed for 97 yards and five touchdowns and caught one pass for 32 yards in Duke's 47-2 victory against Boston College. He set the Duke single-game record with five rushing touchdowns against the Eagles with bursts of one, two, 54, four and one yards in helping Duke to a 47-2 victory. The 54 yard blast is the longest touchdown run of Sheppard's career.
Sheppard tallied three rushing touchdowns in the first half (1, 2 and 54 yards), becoming the first Blue Devil with a trio of rushing scores in a half since Gunnar Holmberg had three in the second half against Kansas on Sept. 25, 2021. The Mandeville, Louisiana, native became the first individual to have three rushing touchdowns in a half versus a Power Four opponent in 2026. The sophomore also became the eighth ACC player since 1996 to score five or more rushing TDs in a game.
With his five scores, Sheppard set the Duke single-season record with 18 TDs scored this fall. Sheppard is up to 30 career touchdowns scored, the third most in a career by a Blue Devil. He leads the FBS in points per game scored and total TDs scored so far this fall. Sheppard lifted his single-season rushing yardage total to 972 yards, the ninth most in a year in program history. Sheppard caught one pass to lift his season receptions total to 31, the 15th most in a year by a running back in program history.
The ACC's other weekly honors included North Carolina's Billy Edwards Jr. (quarterback), Louisville's Tre Richardson (receiver) and Johnnie Brown III (co-offensive lineman), Wake Forest's Will Way (co-offensive lineman), NC State's Popo Aguirre (linebacker), Miami's Marquise Lightfoot (defensive lineman), Clemson's Jerome Carter III (defensive back) and Nolan Hauser (specialist) and Pitt's Damon Ferguson Jr. (rookie).
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