Duke's passing fancy puts State down

RALEIGH -- Thaddeus Lewis plans to get some rest today.

Duke's senior quarterback deserves some sleep after a career-best performance Saturday in leading the Blue Devils to a 49-28 victory over N.C. State at Carter-Finley Stadium.

"That's all I'm doing," Lewis said. "I'm tired."

In making every pass in his arsenal, the 6-foot-1, 215-pound right-hander completed 40 of 50 passes for 459 yards and five touchdowns, spreading the ball around to 10 receivers and dissecting the Wolfpack's zone coverage.

The Devils razed the Pack for 502 yards of total offense and converted 13 of 19 third-down attempts.

Lewis, a fourth-year starter, bounced up and down after every touchdown pass he threw, pumping his fist like Tiger Woods and high-fiving with Duke coaches as he came off the field. His euphoria marked the history he was making with each drive into the end zone.

"It was fun out there," said Lewis, who also ran for a 2-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

Needing just one touchdown pass entering the game to claim the school record, Lewis now has 59, moving ahead of Ben Bennett on the all-time list. His 459 yards was the fourth-highest single-game total in school history. His career TD passes are tied for sixth on the ACC's all-time list with State's Jamie Barnette.

His five touchdown passes were the second most in school history.

Duke coach David Cutcliffe, who has coached NFL quarterbacks Eli and Peyton Manning, said it was the "best game" he's seen one of his quarterbacks have during his coaching career.

"He was really special," he said. "They call that the zone. He was in the zone."

Lewis' hot hand helped the Devils (3-3 overall, 1-1 ACC) snap an 11-game losing streak against State (3-3, 0-2), an eight-game losing streak against ACC competition and a 20-game ACC road losing streak. It was their first conference road victory since a 51-26 victory at Wake Forest on Oct. 22, 1994.

The Devils, trading consecutive touchdowns with State on the game's first six possessions, put up the most points for a Duke team in an ACC game since 1994.

Duke seemed to pull itself together last week in a 34-26 loss to Virginia Tech. The Devils entered Saturday's contest as the ACC's top passing team and lived up to the statistics, throwing with confidence against an overmatched State secondary, finding openings even when everyone, including the 56,452 spectators, knew they would pass.

Duke took a 35-28 lead with 3:41 remaining in the third quarter after a 10-play, 72-yard drive capped by an 8-yard touchdown pass from Lewis to senior wide receiver Austin Kelly.

The Devils defense, getting pressure on State quarterback Russell Wilson, held the Pack the rest of the way with steel-toe man-to-man coverage. After allowing their opponents 21 points and 264 yards of offense in the first half, they held the Pack scoreless and to 74 total yards in the second half.

The Devils also created four second-half turnovers, including two fumble recoveries and two interceptions.

"It was about as fine a team victory you can have," said Cutcliffe, who noted how the offensive line handled the blitz in the second half and deconstructed State's zone coverage.

Lewis, whose performance helped him move into third place on the school's career yardage list with 8,336, found his receivers all over the field.

Asked if it was his best game, Lewis said, "Not at all. I have six more games to go."

Duke 49, N.C. State 28

FIRST QUARTER

Duke--Huffman 2 pass from Lewis (Snyderwine kick), 9:42. NCSt--R.Wilson 10 run (Czajkowski kick), 6:15. Duke--Lewis 2 run (Snyderwine kick), :30. NCSt--Spencer 63 pass from R.Wilson (Czajkowski kick), :14.

SECOND QUARTER

Duke--Boyette 7 pass from Lewis (Snyderwine kick), 11:45. NCSt--Baker 9 run (Czajkowski kick), 8:22.

THIRD QUARTER

Duke--Parker 6 pass from Lewis (Snyderwine kick), 8:17. NCSt--Graham 93 kickoff return (Czajkowski kick), 8:05. Duke--Kelly 8 pass from Lewis (Snyderwine kick), 3:41.

FOURTH QUARTER

Duke--Vernon 5 pass from Lewis (Snyderwine kick), 11:02. Duke--Banks recovered fumble in end zone (Snyderwine kick), 3:07.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Duke, Boyette 9-29, D.Scott 8-13, Lewis 12-8, Williams 1-1, Team 5-(minus 8). N.C. State, Baker 9-73, R.Wilson 11-58, Eugene 3-11.

PASSING--Duke, Lewis 40-50-0-459. N.C. State, R.Wilson 15-27-1-172, Glennon 1-2-1-24, Team 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING--Duke, Vernon 10-86, Varner 7-154, Huffman 5-49, Kelly 5-44, D.Scott 5-37, Boyette 4-18, Williams 1-43, B.King 1-24, Parker 1-6, Hollingsworth 1-(minus 2). N.C. State, Bryan 4-41, Spencer 2-71, Ja.Williams 2-32, Baker 2-22, Bowens 2-17, Eugene 2-8, Graham 2-5.

Att.--56,452.

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