Inside the game
It didn't matter what coverage N.C. State tried in the secondary during Duke's 49-28 thrashing of the Wolfpack on Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium.
"Whether we were playing man or zone, we weren't even in the same area code sometimes as their guys," N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien said.
O'Brien said the Wolfpack has to re-evaluate everything about its defense after Duke's Thaddeus Lewis passed for 459 yards and five touchdowns. On the heels of Riley Skinner's 361-yard passing effort the week before for Wake Forest, Blue Devils coach David Cutcliffe provided a blueprint for defeating N.C. State.
If teams forget about the running game, give their quarterbacks maximum protection and get rid of the ball quickly when they pass, they will expose N.C. State's vulnerable secondary unless the Wolfpack improves.
Game balls
RB Toney Baker: Senior ran for 73 yards on just nine carries and caught two passes for 22 yards.
P Jeff Ruiz: Averaged 39.5 yards per kick and downed two punts inside the Duke 12-yard line. But when your punter is one of your highlights, you know it has been a difficult day.
Looking ahead
For the rest of the season, the most important question each week will be whether N.C. State's opponent has a quarterback who can make the secondary pay.
The Wolfpack (3-3, 0-2 ACC) visits Boston College (4-2, 2-2) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. David Shinskie, the Eagles' 25-year-old freshman, won't be nearly the most formidable quarterback N.C. State will face.
He was 1-for-12 with two interceptions Saturday against Virginia Tech, but the Hokies' secondary is far superior to N.C. State's.
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While there will be bonus time to draw up a game plan for Thursday's trip to Duke, the break also comes at a good time for C.J. Williams. 
N.C. State's 61-52 ACC victory against Georgia Tech on Thursday was built on the memories of what happened the last time the two teams played. 
N.C. State’s 61-52 ACC victory against Georgia Tech on Thursday was built on the memories of what happened the last time the Wolfpack and Yellow Jackets played. 
The Wolfpack cannot lose this game and still harbor serious hopes of earning an NCAA bid based on its regular-season resume. 
If it weren't for that little home stumble against Georgia Tech, N.C. State might be very much on track for the 11 ACC wins their coach - astutely - thinks it will take to make the NCAA tournament. 
The first sentence of the foreword to "Duke Sucks," a newly released book that's jammed full of disdain for the Blue Devils basketball program, offers the following Tar Heel blue assertion: "The best thing about hating Duke University is that you never have to explain yourself." Keep up with the latest sports stories with our free e-mail newsletters, delivered to your inbox!
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