Edwards, Duke Topple State 38-20

NC State tried to make a valiant comeback but fell short, as Duke’s defense stepped up and sealed the 38-21 win over the Pack.

Shadrach Thornton was the lone bright spot for the Pack. He again had a big game, rushing for 103 on 26 carries. The State quarterback conundrum continued, however, as Brandon Mitchell and Pete Thomas switched in and out, neither finding much success against the Duke defense.

Duke jumped out to a 10-o lead on NC State and kept it there until the second half. That’s when the Wolfpack made their move. Niklas Sade connected on a 29 yd FG and then Rashard Smith returned a punt for a 73 yd touchdown to tie the game. After another stop, it was Sade again from 24 this time. The 13 unanswered gave the Pack the lead for the first time and it seemed as if they might have awoken just in time. But Duke answered…

On the ensuing kickoff, Duke’s DeVon Edwards took the kickoff back 100 yards to regain the lead. The score stayed at 17-13 Duke, until 6:37 in the 4th when Brandon Mitchell hit Quentin Payton for an 80 yd touchdown strike down the left sideline. State took the 20-17 lead, but it wasn’t long after that Duke answered once again. After a nice drive it was Brandon Connette with a 5 yd TD run to give Duke back the lead.

State was down to their final 3 minutes and needed to match down the field for a touchdown, but Mitchell threw into traffic and was picked off by DeVon Edwards who ran it in for a TD. Duke piled it on when DeVon Edwards picked off yet another NC State pass on the next drive and ran that one in as well.

Despite a hard fought game and a lot of ups and downs, the Wolfpack fell in what ended up looking pretty embarrassing, 38-20.