Top Five plays from NC State vs Duke

NC State Wolfpack football won its third straight ACC game, a 31-20 win over Duke, to advance to 4-1 and move into the AP Top 25 Poll at No. 23 in the rankings.

A punt block for a touchdown late in the first half followed by a second-half shutout by the defense led the Pack to victory in its first game in Carter-Finley Stadium since the season opener. Redshirt sophomore linebacker Payton Wilson led the team with 19 tackles and two interceptions.

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Here are the Top Five plays from the Wolfpack win:

Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Devin Carter may have made it a more difficult catch than was required but it still doesn't discount the fact that he was able to secure his bobble and stay inbounds on a much needed third-down conversion.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Leary fired a great pass that could have given Carter a touchdown but the play still took the Wolfpack to the Duke one-yard line which set up a rushing touchdown for sophomore running back Jordan Houston on the next play. Down 10 points after the first quarter, the Pack needed a touchdown to give the offense some confidence.

Wilson became the first NC State linebacker to have two interceptions in a single game since Jerod Fernandez did it in 2014 against Jameis Winston and the No. 1 Florida State Seminoles.

The Will linebacker owes credit to the Sam linebacker, sophomore Drake Thomas. Thomas hit Duke quarterback Chase Brice at just the right time to cause the ball to slip out of Brice's hands and give Wilson a pop-fly to field around midfield. Brice finished the game with three interceptions, all of which came at the hands of NC State linebackers.

Credit redshirt junior linebacker Vi Jones for pressuring Brice to cause the Duke quarterback to throw the ball into the ground on fourth-and-goal from the Wolfpack one-yard line.

It marks the third straight game in which NC State's goal-line package has forced a turnover on downs from its own one-yard line. Key redshirt freshman defensive tackle Joshua Harris did not play Saturday, but the Pack's defense filled the gaps up the middle and didn't fall for the play action. It was a crucial stop to keep the Pack within one possession early in the second half.

Jones seemed to find his way into several big plays Saturday afternoon, but this may have been the most important. Down 10 with less than a minute to go until halftime, Jones found a way to block Duke's punt which allowed redshirt junior safety Max Fisher to recover the ball and score a touchdown.

The play made up for NC State's own punt protection breakdown which allowed Duke to take an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter. Instead of trailing two possessions heading to the locker room, the scoop-and-score special teams touchdown pulled the Pack within three and gave it momentum at the break. It was Jones' second punt block in two games after he was able to do the same in the previous contest at Virginia.

It may not have been the most important play of the game, but it was definitely the most impressive. Just moments after Leary came out of the game with a broken fibula, redshirt junior quarterback Bailey Hockman took his place and was put in charge of maintaining the Pack's one-point lead late in the game.

His pass to the endzone was underthrown and was tipped by a Duke defender, but Thomas' stellar eye-hand coordination allowed him to control his body and squeeze the ball between one hand and his helmet. It was potentially lucky that the ball wasn't intercepted, but credit Thomas for finding a way to make the catch which put the Pack up 28-20 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, a lead it was able to maintain to advance to 4-1 on the season.

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