NC State vs Duke gameday guide: How to watch, betting line, live in-game updates
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It’s tought to use the term blessing in disguise when a player misses a game for any reason, yet that’s what happened for N.C. State’s secondary the last two weeks when it played without junior nickel Tyler Baker-Williams.
Baker-Williams entered 2020 as one of the most experienced players in the secondary, but missed the Pittsburgh and Virginia games due to COVID-19 contract tracing.
The Raleigh native never tested positive for COVID-19, but still had to quarantine for 14 days before he could be around the team again. Baker-Williams will return to the lineup this weekend versus Duke. In his absence, however, two younger players emerged and now gives the Wolfpack more depth in the secondary.
True freshman Joshua Pierre-Louis started versus Pittsburgh in place of Baker-Williams and responded well. After not playing in the opener versus Wake Forest, Pierre-Louis has now been on the field for 91 snaps. He was ejected in the second quarter of the Pittsburgh game for a targeting call, but had his first career interception last week against the Cavaliers.
NC State vs Duke football: How to watch
The game kicks off at 3:30 p.m. on RSN.
Betting line: Wolfpack favored
N.C. State is a 4.5-point favorite. The over/under is 59.5.
NC State fast facts
N.C. State opens as a five-point favorite over Duke.
The Wolfpack will be playing in-state opponents in consecutive weeks for the first time this season. That’s happened once each of the last two seasons, with N.C. State winning each time. The Wolfpack defeated ECU (34-6) and Western Carolina (41-0) in back-to-back weeks to start the 2019 season. N.C. State defeated UNC (34-28) and ECU (58-3) to end the 2018 season.
The Wolfpack travel to UNC next weekend and this marks the seventh time in school history that N.C. State plays the Blue Devils and Tar Heels in consecutive weekends. The only time the Wolfpack defeated both opponents was during the 2002 season. Four of those meetings, N.C. State loss both games.
Duke is one of four ACC teams that Dave Doeren has not beaten since he’s been the head coach at N.C. State.
Duke sophomore quarterback Gunnar Holmberg has appeared in two games this season for the Blue Devils. Homberg was a high school teammate of N.C. State linebacker Drake Thomas, wide receiver Thayer Thomas and running back Ricky Person at Heritage High School in Wake Forest.
Even though Duke is located so close by, there are just three players on the Blue Devils’ roster from Wake County.
N.C. State running backs coach Kurt Roper spent 17 years of his coaching career working with Duke head coach David Cutcliffe, including 2008-12 when Roper was the offensive coordinator for the Blue Devils. Kurt’s brother, Zac, is currently the offensive coordinator at Duke.
The victory over UVA was win No. 50 for Doeren at N.C. State. Doeren is just the third coach in school history to get to 50 wins.
Duke turned the ball over four times against Syracuse. The Wolfpack forced a season-high four turnovers against UVA last week. “Duke has thrown some interceptions, they’ve fumbled some balls, I know they work hard on that,” Doeren said. “Our kids right now are very excited about what happens when they get takeaways here and they see the outcome and how it helps our offense.”
The Blue Devils are an even 12-12 on the road in the month of October under Cutcliffe.
Duke recorded six sacks last week against the Orange. The Wolfpack didn’t give up a single sack against the Cavaliers.
Duke fast facts
* In the 2013 game, Duke’s DeVon Edwards had a day. Edwards had two pick-six returns in a span of 16 seconds, plus a 100-yard kickoff return and score, to spur a 38-20 victory.
* Duke’s last game at Carter-Finley Stadium was in October 2009, when quarterback Thaddeus Lewis was 40-of-50 passing for 459 yards and five TDs in the Blue Devils’ 49-29 win. The Wolfpack quarterback: Russell Wilson.
* Duke’s 19 turnovers are the most among FBS teams. The tally: 10 lost fumbles, nine interceptions. The Blue Devils have fumbled 13 times in all. Mississippi State has 14 turnovers in three games.
* Senior tight end Noah Gray continues to be Duke’s leading receiver with 21 catches for 217 yards, with two TDs, but Jarett Garner is averaging 24.6 yards on his eight catches.
* Duke defensive end Victor Dimukeje is closing in on Charles Bowser’s school record of 22.0 career sacks. Dimukeje needs three sacks to pass Bowser..
* Duke quarterback Chris Katrenick will miss the NC State game because of a personal circumstance, the school said.”
NC State vs Duke by the numbers
Records: Duke 1-4 (1-4 ACC); NC State 3-1 (3-1 ACC)
Duke offense: 21.6 ppg | 416.4 ypg | 263 passing ypg | 153.4 rushing ypg
Duke defense: 30.6 ppg | 409.6 ypg | 249.2 passing ypg | 160.4 rushing ypg
NC State offense: 34.2 ppg | 402.5 ypg | 240 passing ypg | 162.5 rushing ypg
NC State defense: 34.2 ppg | 447 ypg | 287.8 passing ypg | 159.2 rushing ypg
Duke run game vs. NC State run defense
Duke’s running back duo Deon Jackson and Mataeo Durant carried the game against Syracuse, both recording 150+ rushing yards. They became the first Blue Devils pair to rush for 150+ yards in a single game, and the first duo to rush for 100+ since three Duke players did so against Indiana five years ago. Jackson, who rushed for 169 yards, currently sits eighth in the ACC, averaging 82.40 yards per game. His total on Saturday ranks as the fourth most by a single rusher under Cutcliffe while Durant ranks as fifth (163 yards).
“I feel like me and Deon are very much pretty similar, he’s just a bigger back than I am. I feel like we have a lot of speed and we’re both very powerful,” Durant said. “We’re just a great one-two punch overall—there’s not a drop-off when he comes in or when I go in.”
Relying on the duo will be a strong move for the Duke offense because the Wolfpack has consistently struggled to stop the run so far this season. N.C. State is ranked 45th against the run, allowing 159.3 yards per game. However, last weekend, they allowed a mere 82 yards on 29 carries. The defense is known to generate pressure, tying 11th nationally with 12 sacks in four games.
Duke pass game vs. NC State pass defense
Clemson transfer quarterback Chase Brice has compiled 104 of 193 passes for 1,271 yards with five touchdowns and eight interceptions (a league high) so far this season. Last week against Syracuse, he led the Blue Devils, going 22 of 38 for 270 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Brice threw similar numbers against Virginia Tech two weeks ago, starting to show more consistency.
One of the key things that Duke needs to watch out for is N.C. State’s pass rush defense. The Wolfpack tallied six sacks against Wake Forest in the season opener, but since then they’ve only managed six sacks in the last three games. While they registered three sacks against Virginia last week, the Cavaliers attempted 64 passes.
NC State run game vs. Duke run defense
Sophomore running back Zonovan “Bam” Knight was a saving grace for N.C. State against Virginia. As redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Leary struggled to stay consistent, Knight rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns in just 18 carries. This season, he’s averaged 6.4 yards per carry.
Duke has only given up an average of 160.4 rushing yards per game, but is ranked third lowest in the nation in turnover margin (-2.20). While safety Marquis Waters and linebacker Shaka Heyward have been consistent key players in the Blue Devils’ run defense, new players stepped up to the tackle challenge against Syracuse. Redshirt sophomore safety Nate Thompson, redshirt junior cornerback Leonard Johnson and senior defensive tackle Derrick Tangelo all tied for six total tackles, and all of Johnson’s were solo. Tangelo, however, caught Cutcliffe’s eye after his performance against Syracuse.
“I got on the plane early, and I had a coach behind me,” Cutcliffe said. “I was doing some work, and I said, ‘Don’t let Tangelo pass me if I don’t see him.’ And the reason is that I wanted to tell Derrick that he had an impact in that game. An interior defensive lineman can be a disrupter much faster than an edge guy because they can do it consistently on every play in the run game.”
NC State pass game vs. Duke pass defense
Last year, Leary became the first redshirt freshman to start under center for the Wolfpack since Russell Wilson in 2010. Now, Leary has thrown seven touchdowns and completed 60 percent of his pass attempts in three starts. However, he had a subpar half against Virginia last weekend. During the second half, he completed 2 of 9 passes for 45 yards and an interception. While it is important to highlight that the Wolfpack leaned on more conservative play calling because of their three score lead heading into the second half, Leary was inconsistent, struggling with his footwork and accuracy.
Duke has registered a total of 18 sacks this season, tied for second-most in the ACC with Clemson. Additionally, it has tallied 3.6 sacks per game, ranked 11th in FBS. Chris Rumph II and Victor Dimukeje continue to lead Duke as high-end pass rushers; however, the system as a whole needs to be tightened. The two only snagged 3.5 sacks for 19 yards against Syracuse. Only four other defensive players registered sacks last weekend. The Wolfpack receivers will also likely target inexperienced redshirt sophomore cornerback Jeremiah Lewis, who has been inconsistent despite stepping into the starting role in light of injuries.
Duke intangibles vs. NC State intangibles
The Blue Devils continue to struggle with turnovers, tallying four while still winning by two touchdowns over Syracuse last weekend. N.C. State’s defense, though, hasn’t been impressive. The game will likely end in a shootout, the winner being the one who can win the turnover battle due to inconsistent quarterbacks on both sides and one who can play a complete game. In turn, they get the regional bragging rights until the two play again, whenever that may be.
“We need to play a complete game,” Cutcliffe said. “We know we’re capable — in all five of our games we’ve had moments where we’ve played really good football. They’re working really hard at practice, they’re doing everything we ask them to do, but we need to put together a complete game and it couldn’t be a better week to do that than this one.”
N.C. State schedule / results
Game 1 — N.C. State 45, Wake Forest 42
Game 2 — Virginia Tech 45, N.C. State 24
Game 3 — Pittsburgh 30, N.C. State 29
Game 4 — N.C. State 38, Virginia 21
Oct. 17 — Duke at N.C. State, 3:30 p.m.
Oct. 24 — N.C. State at UNC, Noon
Duke football schedule / results
Week 1 — Notre Dame 27, Duke 13
Week 2 — Boston College 26, Duke 6
Week 3 — Virginia 38, Duke 20
Week 4 — Virginia Tech 38, Duke 31
Week 5 — Duke 38, Syracuse 24
Oct. 17 — Duke at N.C. State, 3:30 p.m.
Oct. 31 — Charlotte at Duke, TBD
Nov. 7 — North Carolina at Duke, TBD
Nov. 21 — Wake Forest at Duke, TBD
Nov. 28 — Duke at Georgia Tech, TBD
Dec. 5 — Florida State at Duke, TBD
Nov. 6 — Miami at N.C. State, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 14 — Florida State vs. N.C. State, TBD
Nov. 21 — Liberty vs. N.C. State, TBD
Nov. 28 — N.C. State at Syracuse, TBD
Dec. 5 — Georgia Tech at N.C. State, TBD
ACC Network / ACC football TV schedule
Pittsburgh at Miami, Noon, ACC Network
Clemson at Georgia Tech, Noon, ABC
Liberty at Syracuse, Noon, ESPN3
Louisville at Notre Dame, 2:30 p.m., NBC
Duke at N.C. State, 3:30 p.m., ESPN3
Virginia at Wake Forest, 4 p.m., ACC Network
UNC at Florida State, 7:30 p.m., ABC
Boston College at Virginia Tech, 8 p.m., ACC Network
This story was originally published October 16, 2020 at 8:52 AM with the headline "NC State vs Duke gameday guide: How to watch, betting line, live in-game updates."