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Mistakes haunt NC State in 45-33 loss at Duke

NC State could not stay out of its own way on Saturday evening, and it was mistakes that ultimately defined the Wolfpack’s loss to Duke. NC State outgained Duke by a 2-1 margin in the first half and yet was down a point at the break, which pretty well tells the story. That’s definitely where the game was squandered.

The game turned late in the first half on CJ Bailey’s second interception, which came on what he thought was a free play deep in Duke territory and was picked and returned over 60 yards the other way. Duke quickly cashed that turnover, and instead of going into halftime up two scores, NC State was losing. That was a whirlwind turn of events for a team that had led 20-7 and looked in very good shape.

In addition to the turnovers in the first half, State’s special teams had another brain fart—an offside penalty on a Duke punt that resulted in Duke putting the offense back on the field, converting, and scoring the game-tying touchdown. This kind of foolishness would prove costly.

The second half saw Duke come right out and score to go up 28-20 as Darian Mensah started to heat up—see, this is where it would have been useful to be ahead by a couple scores at the break to weather Mensah’s strong second half. It could have been 24-21 State there instead, and while that does nothing to change the reality of State’s non-existent pass rush, it does at least put State in position to keep the initiative and match shot for shot.

State was able to respond initially, as Hollywood Smothers finally got loose for a long touchdown. The two-point attempt to tie the game failed, and the Blue Devils quickly scored again. State mounted another good drive in response, the stalled on bad playcalling inside the 10 and had a field goal blocked thanks to a terrible mental error by Kamen Smith. That missed scoring chance was a backbreaker.

Duke pushed the lead to 12, then CJ Bailey turned the ball over for the third time, this one a fumble as he was indecisive on a read option play. The defense came through with a stop after that, finally making some plays in the backfield, and forced a punt.

That Duke possession took a couple of minutes, though, and State’s subsequent drive took a handful more, but State was finally back to within one score.

State needed a stop with four minutes left and couldn’t get it, instead giving up a 66-yard touchdown run on third down, and honestly, that made plenty of sense in the context of this game. Why not have it come to an end with another mistake?

CJ Bailey was \good on the plays that did not result in turnovers, and the chunk plays were plentiful, but the mistake differential was lopsided in Duke’s favor, and Darian Mensah was excellent in the second half to keep his team at least one step ahead. NC State’s pass rush often provided little trouble, especially after Cian Slone exited with an injury.

Give Duke credit for taking care of the ball and putting its foot on the gas in the second half. It was too much for NC State to overcome.