Murphy, Pelino, defense help Duke push past NC State 29-19 in in-state ACC matchup

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Maalik Murphy threw two touchdown passes and scored the go-ahead TD on a short third-quarter keeper…

CryptoFortress

Nov 10, 2024 - 02:04

Murphy, Pelino, defense help Duke push past NC State 29-19 in in-state ACC matchup

Ads by Eonads

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Maalik Murphy threw two touchdown passes and scored the go-ahead TD on a short third-quarter keeper to help Duke grind past N.C. State 29-19 on Saturday night.

Ads by Eonads

On a day when the defenses controlled the game, the Blue Devils (7-3, 3-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) pushed through by allowing just one touchdown, coming up with a pair of takeaways and getting a pair of long field goals from Todd Pelino.

Pelino hit from 50 yards out in the 1st quarter and knocked through a critical 49-yarder with 2:12 left in the fourth to make it a two-possession game.

Jordan Moore had a leaping 45-yard touchdown grab late in the first quarter to give Duke a 12-0 lead, while Sahmir Hagans had a 9-yard scoring catch early in the fourth to put Duke up 26-12. The rest of the game largely belonged to Duke’s defense, which set an early tone by smothering Wolfpack freshman quarterback CJ Bailey on an RPO keeper in the end zone for a safety on NC State’s second offensive snap.

Duke also forced a fumble by Bailey on the ensuing possession, then had Terry Moore snag an interception in the fourth, grabbing Bailey’s pass that was slightly behind target Justin Joly and bounced off Joly’s hands for an easy takeaway that set up Hagans’ score.

Bailey threw for 184 yards and a 16-yard touchdown catch to a sliding Wesley Grimes, who was alone on the left side of the end zone and got his knees down just inside the sideline for the fourth-down score that brought the Wolfpack (5-5, 2-4) within 26-19 with 9:01 left.

But the Wolfpack otherwise had to settle for four field goals from Kanoah Vinesett and didn’t have even 200 yards entering the final quarter before finishing at 268 total yards.

The takeaway

Duke: The Blue Devils had already secured bowl eligibility in their first season under Manny Diaz, though they arrived in Raleigh after losing in overtime to No. 13 SMU (despite six takeaways) and at fourth-ranked Miami. This time, they won despite managing just 276 total yards — including 31 on the ground — and failing to convert any of their third-down tries (0 for 9).

NC State: The Wolfpack’s past two games against two of the league’s new programs had stabilized things a bit, first with a win at California and then last week’s home rout of Stanford with 59 points — the most-ever by the Wolfpack in any ACC game. But nothing was easy in this one, with Bailey routinely finding himself under pressure early and converting just 3 of 15 third-down tries.