Monday morning quarterbacking: NC State 31, Duke 20

NC State Wolfpack football stretched its winning streak to three games in a row with a 31-20 win at home over Duke, improving to 4-1, both overall and in conference action.

It’s time for a final look at the contest with some Monday morning quarterbacking:

There were two plays made by redshirt junior linebacker Vi Jones, one near the end of the first half and the other at the beginning of the second.

Duke led 17-7 when Jones, for the second week in a row, blocked a punt. Redshirt junior safety Max Fisher scooped up the loose ball and returned it eight yards for a score, trimming Duke's lead down to three points with 45 seconds left before halftime.

The Blue Devils extended the advantage with a field goal to end the first half, and then looked poised to add to its lead further after they recovered a strip sack of redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Leary at the NC State 25-yard line.

Six plays later, Duke faced third-and-goal at the 1-yard line. Senior running back Deon Jackson was stuffed for no gain. Duke chose to go for it, and Jones again came up big. His quick pass rush on Duke senior quarterback Chase Brice forced an incomplete pass, and for the third straight week NC State was able to get a fourth-and-goal stop at the 1-yard line. The importance was it kept the margin at one score, 20-14 in Duke's favor.

That also turned out to be Duke's last great chance to score again.

1. Stopping Duke's running backs: In its win at Syracuse, Jackson ran 30 times for 169 yards and junior Mataeo Durant added 23 carries for 163 yards and two scores. A week later against the Wolfpack, the numbers were starkly different.

Jackson ran 20 times for just 34 yards, and Durant had seven carries for nine yards. That was the key in holding Duke to a season-low 319 total yards, less than half the 645 yards it had at Syracuse.

2. Making plays on defense and special teams: The only way NC State won this game is because its defense and special teams helped balance out the mistakes the Wolfpack made, most of them on offense.

Duke's first points came when it blocked redshirt junior Trenton Gill's punt and returned it for a touchdown, but Jones' big play and Fisher's subsequent TD canceled that out. NC State's offense turned it over three times, the last coming on Leary's fumble. Yet by the end of the game, the Wolfpack linebacker corps came up with three picks of its own to even the turnover margin.

3. Finding discipline in the second half: Eight penalties for 106 yards is too many for one game. For one half, as was the case for NC State at halftime against Duke, it's inexcusable.

The gist of Doeren's locker-room message at the break was to be smarter, and to the Pack's credit it responded with no second-half penalties.

1. First-half discipline. By halftime, NC State had 106 penalty yards, two turnovers, a blocked punt that was returned for a score and a player ejected for targeting (sophomore safety Jakeen Harris). Whether the Pack was too amped up to play what was for many an in-state rival for the first time in their careers or simply not focused and ready, NC State did a good job of shooting themselves in the foot in the first half.

2. Containing Chase Brice's runs. You can forgive NC State for not having Brice's running game on the scouting report. In his career, which was previously as a backup at Clemson before he transferred to Duke in the offseason, Brice had never rushed for more than 28 yards in a game and netted negative-three yards on the year in 2020.

Probably figuring NC State was not expecting it, Duke had Brice run keepers on run-pass options and it was effective. He ran for 86 yards on 14 rushes, and that turned out to be the most effective part of the Blue Devils' offense.

3. Emerging unscathed. The victory had a bittersweet tone to it due to the injury to Leary (broken leg), but there were other potential developments that could have the Wolfpack critically shorthanded at offensive tackle and safety.

NC State’s offensive line vs. Duke's defensive front

The Blue Devils finished with seven tackles for loss and three sacks, which was about what it typically has done on average in a game this year. The Pack averaged just 3.1 yards rushing as a team, although sacks had something to do with that. The running back duo of junior Ricky Person Jr. and sophomore Zonovan "Bam" Knight was effective, but the kindest you could do for NC State is call it a draw.

Duke's offensive line vs. NC State’s defensive front

This was a big win for the Wolfpack. Duke could get absolutely nothing going in the traditional run game, and Brice was sacked four times by NCSU. Even with Brice's keepers, Duke still only averaged 3.1 yards per rush.

NC State’s wide receivers vs. Duke’s secondary

When Duke sophomore safety Jalen Alexander let a sure interception slip through his hands in the fourth quarter, and NC State redshirt junior receiver Thayer Thomas responded by pinning the suddenly-available-to-catch football against his helmet for a touchdown, which tilted the edge in this matchup to the Wolfpack.

Duke's wide receivers vs. NC State’s secondary

Duke junior Jake Bobo made a couple of big catches and had a nice afternoon with six receptions for 62 yards and a TD, but no other Duke player averaged double-digit yards per catch.

This matchup was a win for the Wolfpack.

Quarterbacks

Leary had two turnovers, but he had his moments where he was clearly the best quarterback on the field. Redshirt junior Bailey Hockman managed to finish off the drive Leary started for the game's final touchdown, and Hockman also helped engineer a field goal to ice the contest.

Thus, collectively, NC State's QBs were better than Brice, who threw three interceptions and averaged just 4.8 yards per pass attempt.

Running backs

Knight was hoping to have a big game against the team he once committed to, but an early fumble cost him carries. He responded late with some big runs and finished with 10 rushes for 44 yards. Person, though, was the best running back on the field this afternoon, running 15 times for 84 yards.

The two also combined to catch five passes for 43 yards. Sophomore Jordan Houston additionally ran for a score.

Together, they were far more productive than Duke's running backs.

Tight ends/fullbacks

NC State fifth-year senior Cary Angeline continues to catch touchdowns. He hauled in his fifth of the season when he caught a four-yarder from Leary to give the Pack the lead for good at 21-20. Angeline then added a 19-yard grab from Hockman to set up another TD later in the game.

Duke's duo of senior Noah Gray and redshirt junior Jake Marwede combined to make six receptions for 46 yards.

Special teams

Both teams gave up blocked punts that were returned for touchdowns, but Duke redshirt freshman kicker Charlie Ham also missed a 45-yard field goal late in the game during the Blue Devils' last, desperate bid to get back into the contest. Duke redshirt freshman punter Porter Wilson also averaged just 37.4 yards per attempt.

That tilts the overall edge in special teams to NC State.

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