The Duke Blue Devils (7-3, 3-3 ACC) stopped their two-game slide, and subsequently ended the NC State Wolfpack’s (5-5, 2-4 ACC) two-game winning streak in a 29-19 slog Saturday evening.
The Blue Devils had a great defensive performance against the Wolfpack, holding them to just 263 yards of total offense and forcing the Pack to settle for a field goal in each of its first six trips to the red zone.
“They covered us, they rushed us, they stopped the run,” said NC State coach Dave Doeren. “We didn’t get it done. We got outplayed in that area of the field. They made more plays down there than us. We didn’t finish drives in that area of the field. We were able to get down there quite a bit, but you have to finish. It’s not about being 100% scoring if they’re all field goals. You have to get some touchdowns and it comes down to execution more than anything.”
NC State’s defense wasn’t too bad either, holding Duke to just 276 yards of total offense, going a perfect 9-for-9 in third down situations and putting up nine tackles for loss.
The defense even forced a big play that felt like a game changer at the end of the first half as freshman starting nickel Tamarcus Cooley stripped a ball out of senior Duke receiver Eli Pancol’s hands and took it 70-yards the other way for a potential 10-point swing.
“Defensively, we played good enough in that game to win and we just didn’t connect offensively enough,” Doeren said.
However, the biggest issue for the defense was that they really struggled to put any sort of pressure on Blue Devils quarterback Maalik Murphy who played a solid, patient game throwing for 245 yards and two touchdowns on 22-for-31 passing.
Murphy hardly had to worry too much in the pocket as Duke’s front did a great job protecting their QB who was only hurried twice on the night and sacked once.
On the opposite side, NC State’s freshman quarterback CJ Bailey had a tough time dealing with the pressure Duke was bringing as he completed less than 50% of his passes (16-for-39).
“I missed a lot of shots, a lot of throws that I wish I could have back,” Bailey said.
The biggest turning point in the game came in the fourth quarter with NC State, who was within one possession, dropping three-straight passes with the third one ending up in a tipped ball for an interception that led to an easy Blue Devils touchdown.
“The game came down to us kicking field goals and them scoring a couple more touchdowns than us,” Doeren said. “We gave them a short field with a turnover in the red zone which really hurts.”
Off the rip, the game was an uphill climb for NC State who shot themselves in the foot early by giving up a safety on just their second play of the game and then on the ensuing drive, Bailey fumbled the ball as he attempted to run for a first down two plays in yet again.
The Wolfpack tried to get the ground game going too with Bailey struggling, but that also bore no fruit as beyond QB scrambles, the Pack put together just 48 yards.
Overall though, neither team was capable of running the ball as the two teams combined for just 115 rushing yards on the night in 56 attempts.
“Collectively, it’s not good enough,” Doeren said. “It’s a we, us and ours business and there isn’t any blame other than everybody and it starts with me.”
NC State now heads into another bye week before heading down to Atlanta on Nov. 21 to take on a Georgia Tech squad who just knocked off No. 4 Miami.
Duke will also head into a bye week before hosting Virginia Tech on Nov. 23.
