bstrickland@heraldsun.com; 419-6671
RALEIGH -- When Duke quarterback Thad Lewis trotted toward the sidelines late in the fourth quarter with a victory over N.C. State assured, Coach David Cutcliffe greeted him with a hearty handshake and a jarring declaration.
"I told him it was the best game I've had a quarterback play," Cutcliffe said. "They can get mad at me if they want."
In Cutcliffe's world, "they" includes the likes of NFL superstars Peyton and Eli Manning, of Tennessee legends like Heath Shuler and Tee Martin.
"They" might not like it, but they'd have a hard time disputing it after Lewis became the Blue Devils' career leader in touchdown passes with a career day and a career-defining victory.
Lewis completed 40 of 50 passes -- half the incompletions coming on drops -- for 459 yards and five touchdowns as Duke downed the Wolfpack 49-28 on Saturday evening at Carter-Finley Stadium.
Heading into the game, Lewis needed two touchdown passes to eclipse the 55 that legend Ben Bennett tossed from 1980-83, but he got much more -- in more ways than one.
Lewis added a rushing touchdown to tie the school mark of six touchdowns in a game, and he topped Bennett's school record of 39 completions in a 1980 game against Wake Forest. He did, however, miss exceeding Dave Brown's 20-year-old record for passing yards by 20.
Still, those records and near-records paled compared to the victory, one that snapped Duke's losing streak in ACC road games at 20 and its skid against N.C. State at 11.
"I don't think I've beaten an in-state rival since I've been here," said Lewis, who was 0-7 against in-state ACC foes. "For us to come on the road and get this victory, it's big. To break the school record and get the win, it feels great.
"I was going out there and tossing the ball around."
The Blue Devils (3-3, 1-1 ACC) made it look easy on offense, scoring touchdowns on six of their first eight possessions. The only exceptions were the final two drives of the first half -- and even one of those ended on a lost fumble inside N.C. State's 10-yard line.
Still, with the offensive line giving Lewis all the time he needed and receivers such as Conner Vernon (10 catches, 86 yards) and Donovan Varner (7 for 154) taking turns making catches, Duke didn't have the lead at halftime. Wolfpack quarterback Russell Wilson matched Lewis throw-for-throw in the first half, as both teams found the end zone on each of its first three drives to produce a 21-21 deadlock at halftime.
But in the second half, when Duke's offense didn't slow down one bit, the Blue Devils' defense found a way to slow the Wolfpack. N.C. State mustered just 74 yards in the second half after a 264-yard first half, getting its only scoring on a 93-yard kickoff return from T.J. Graham.
The Wolfpack (3-3, 0-2) fielded numerous kickoffs, as Duke got more yards on its opening drive of the second half than N.C. State would get the entire half. Starting on its own 3-yard line, Duke marched 97 yards in nine plays, a drive highlighted by a 48-yard hookup with Varner and capped by a 6-yard score to tight end Danny Parker for a 28-21 lead.
"When we were backed up on the 3-yard line, Coach Cut and Thad came in there and said, '97 yards -- that's where we're going,' and we did it," said receiver Austin Kelly, who added five catches for 44 yards. "Thad had a swagger about him. We knew whenever we went on the field that we were going to march down."
Graham answered that TD with his return, but Duke dominated the rest of the way. Lewis led his team 72 yards on the next drive, hitting Kelly for an 8-yard score on third and goal on a night when the Blue Devils converted 13 of 19 third downs.
Special teams helped Duke extend the lead from there. A rare Duke punt bounded off N.C. State safety Justin Byers and was recovered by Duke receiver Tony Jackson at the 11, setting up a score for Vernon to make it 42-28.
Later, a Duke punt hit off Wolfpack wideout Owen Spencer and was corralled by Duke linebacker Adam Banks in the end zone for a touchdown. Soon after, Leon Wright and Lee Butler added the finishing touches with interceptions.
"That's about as fine a team victory as you could have," Cutcliffe said. "There's never perfection, but we absolutely kept playing and plugging defensively, in the kicking game and offensively.
"I don't know how many wins are quote, 'signature wins.' I've always kind of kept those to myself. ... But I probably will put a ball that recognizes this game in my office. It's certainly worthy of that."
