Duke football relies on run game, defense in 24-3 win over NC State, stays perfect in ACC
Henry Belin IV did just enough in his first start as Duke’s quarterback and the Blue Devils defense took it from there.
Starting in place of the injured Riley Leonard, Belin threw a pair of first-half touchdown passes as the No. 17 Blue Devils beat N.C. State, 24-3, Saturday night at Wallace Wade Stadium.
Belin only completed four passes in his first career start as Duke played without Leonard for the first time since November 2021.
But Duke’s defense remained stingy as the Wolfpack were held scoreless after taking a 3-0 lead less than two minutes into the game. Duke (5-1, 2-0 ACC) held N.C. State (4-3, 1-2 ACC) to 305 total yards.
Here are three takeaways as Duke beat N.C. State in the Wolfpack’s first game at Wallace Wade Stadium since 2013:
Run game fuels Duke offense
Playing without Leonard and starting tight end Nicky Dalmolin (lower body),the Blue Devils were limited offensively.
Belin threw an early interception in his own territory, which led to N.C. State taking an early 3-0 lead. Despite Belin finishing just 4 of 12 for 107 passing yards, the Blue Devils rushed for 196 yards to provide enough offense.
Jordan Waters had the strongest night among the running backs, finishing with 123 yards. That included an 83-yard touchdown run on Duke’s first play from scrimmage of the second half that gave the Blue Devils a three-touchdown lead.
The Blue Devils averaged a healthy 6.8 yards per carry. That’s against an NC State defense which had allowed just 3.3 yards per carry this season.
Dominating Duke defense
Duke allowed just 11.2 points per game over its first five games, good for No. 4 nationally in scoring defense. Though the Wolfpack ran more 28 plays from scrimmage than Duke on Saturday night, the Blue Devils’ points allowed per game will shrink even further.
N.C. State averaged 4.4 yards per play while finding success on just 4 of 15 third down plays. The Wolfpack were also 1 of 4 on fourth downs.
The Blue Devils recorded eight tackles for losses, with eight different players contributing to that total. Tre Freeman and Aeneas Peebles led the way with 1.5 TFLs each. Freeman also intercepted a pass to set up a Duke touchdown.
Duke also had three sacks.
The dominance started early and set a tone that never changed. Belin threw an interception on Duke’s first possession, giving the Wolfpack the ball at the Blue Devils 38. But the Wolfpack gained zero yards on three plays with Freeman and Duke safety Jaylen Stinson combining on a TFL on N.C. State’s first play from scrimmage.
Baffling Wolfpack offense
The Wolfpack took a 3-0 lead on Brayden Narveson’s booming 57-yard field goal but Duke’s defense served notice yards and points would be difficult for the Pack to obtain.
It’s no secret the Wolfpack offense has struggled all season. Offensive coordinator Robert Anae described the last several weeks as “topsy turvy.” He said it hadn’t met expectations and done a lot of soul searching.
N.C. State might need to do more of that soul searching after its baffling performance at Duke.
In the first half, MJ Morris completed 5-of-12 passes and threw an interception, which the Blue Devils turned into a touchdown.
The confusing part wasn’t the rough start. Morris started 1-of-7 against Marshall last week and managed to settle in. No, the confusing part came in the rotation.
Kevin “KC” Concepcion was the leading rusher — with 36 yards — behind Morris and only targeted as a receiver once in the first half. Concepcion had five catches in the second, including hauling in a couple of passes for first downs.
Meanwhile, Anthony Smith — who had only played on defense this year — was targeted twice in the first two quarters. Then, he was the intended receiver for a fourth quarter, fourth-down deep ball that could’ve been a touchdown. He dropped the pass.
Running backs Demarcus Jones and Michael Allen were among the passing targets, as well.
This story was originally published October 14, 2023 at 7:00 PM with the headline "Duke football relies on run game, defense in 24-3 win over NC State, stays perfect in ACC."
