DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — It was a game worthy of a rivalry label between two teams with high expectations for this season.
In the end, it was the home team Duke that came from behind to hand NC State their first loss of the season. The Blue Devils defeated the Wolfpack 45-33 Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham in front of a crowd that featured a lot of red.
Duke (2-2 overall, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) and NC State (3-1, 0-1) ended the first quarter tied at 7-7 after exchanging touchdowns on their respective opening possessions. Then the Wolfpack took over for a bit, scoring touchdowns on two long back-to-back drives to build a 20-7 lead.
Then the Blue Devils — led by quarterback Darian Mensah and running back Anderson Castle and helped by some miscues from NC State — went on a scoring streak. They notched two touchdowns before the half, including one that came after the defense picked off a CJ Bailey pass late in the second quarter. That gave Duke a 21-20 lead going into halftime.
With the ball to start the second half, the Blue Devils capitalized, finding the end zone with just a minute and a half elapsed in the third quarter. The Wolfpack answered immediately on a 51-yard touchdown run by Hollywood Smothers to close the deficit to 28-26. On the ensuing possession, however, Duke scored their fourth consecutive touchdown to bring the lead back up to 35-26.
A field goal to start the fourth quarter increased Duke’s lead to double digits. NC State scored a touchdown with just over four minutes left to go in the game to bring them within 38-35, but the Blue Devils answered again with another touchdown.
Then, with the Wolfpack down 45-33 and facing 4th and 6 on their own 43-yard line with a minute and 24 seconds left in the game, Bailey threw his third interception of the day, sealing the win for the home team.
Bailey finished with 364 passing yards for NC State, completing 29 of his 39 pass attempts. He threw two touchdown passes but also threw three interceptions. Smothers had 17 carries for 123 yards and a touchdown, while Terrell Anderson had two touchdown catches and finished with 166 yards on six receptions in the loss.
Mensah threw three touchdowns for the Blue Devils, finishing with 269 yards on 19 of 28 passing. Castle had a total of 12 carries for 92 yards and three rushing touchdowns. Landen King, Sahmir Hagans and Cooper Barkate each caught a touchdown pass for Duke.