Mistakes plague NC State at Duke; Doeren explains plan on 4th down interception
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Wolfpack surrendered a 20-7 lead amid critical errors and failed execution.
- Bailey committed four turnovers, including a key second-quarter interception.
- Special teams miscues and missed assignments sealed the loss against Duke.
One of N.C. State’s greatest strengths this season has been the ability to finish games, pulling off three close wins, a far cry from the disappointing outcomes of 2024. That did not ring true against Duke on Saturday.
The Wolfpack jumped out to a strong start against Duke, taking a 20-7 lead in the second quarter, but “finishing” was not a word that can be used to describe the game or individual drives.
N.C. State’s 45-33 loss to Duke — its third straight against the Blue Devils — was filled with mistakes, miscues and miscommunication.
“I’ll give Duke credit. Congratulations to them on the win, and they definitely deserve it,” N.C. State head coach Dave Doeren said. “They came back. We had a chance with a two score lead to do some things. There’s a lot of mistakes in that game that hurt us.”
The biggest, and one of the most memorable mistakes or “boondoggle,” as one fan on social media put it, came late in the second quarter. It was 4th down with two yards to go, and the ball was spotted on Duke’s 24 yard line.
Wolfpack center Jalen Grant snapped the football, but neither quarterback CJ Bailey nor the receivers appeared ready for the snap. A play had not been called, and instead of taking a knee or throwing the ball away, Bailey threw into coverage. Duke’s Tre Freeman intercepted the pass and returned it for a gain of 67 yards. His play set up the Blue Devils for a touchdown that allowed them to take a 21-20 lead into halftime.
Doeren said, in that instance, the team doesn’t have a play called unless the opponent jumps offsides into the neutral zone. Only then is the center is instructed to snap the football and Bailey takes “a free shot knowing we’ve got five [penalty yards].” Grant, and those on the sideline, thought Duke defensive end Vincent Anthony was offsides. The officials did not and the play is not reviewable.
Screenshots of both teams at the line of scrimmage were posted online to show Anthony was offsides, but they do not prove the sequence of events between the snap and Anthony’s movement.
Running back Hollywood Smothers said he wasn’t surprised that the ball was snapped, but he was surprised by the outcome. He also thought Anthony moved early but said the officials told them Grant snapped on the clap.
Bailey, however, needed to recognize there were no flags thrown, Doeren said.
“It’s a tough play in the game,” Doeren said. “We’re trying to get him to jump, and if they don’t, I was going to bang a timeout and kick a field goal. We weren’t even going to run a play right there.”
Special teams issues continue
Kicking a field goal, however, might not have proved fruitful with the way special teams played in the loss. It struggled for the second week in a row, and — similar to the Wake Forest game — the issues started early.
A costly N.C. State offsides penalty extended Duke’s first drive and pushed the Blue Devils inside the Wolfpack 40-yard line and gave them a manageable fourth down conversion distance. Duke used five plays, including two explosives, to score its first touchdown and tie the game at 7. Doeren said this was a situation the defense worked on in practice, but it did not execute the plan.
In the second quarter, freshman quarterback Will Wilson punched in his first career touchdown on a 1-yard rush to cap off an 80-yard drive. Kicker Kanoah Vinesett missed the extra point for the first time in his career. He entered the game 44 for 44 on PATs.
Vinesett attempted a 25-yard field goal late in the third quarter, but Duke defensive end Wesley Williams blocked it with ease.
Freshman receiver Teddy Hoffmann mishandled a punt in the first period, forcing the offense to start the following drive on its own 1-yard line.
Turnovers pile up
Bailey completed 29 of 39 passes for a career-high 364 yards and two touchdowns. Unfortunately, he also committed four turnovers. Bailey threw three interceptions, tying a career high, and fumbled the football in the fourth quarter. Prior to N.C. State’s trip to Duke, Bailey had thrown only one interception and the team had not fumbled the football.
Finally, the Wolfpack drew within five points late in the fourth. It had time to come back and win the game had the defense gotten a stop. The Pack did a good job holding Duke on third down, but one of the few conversions happened at a bad time.
Linebacker Kenny Soares missed his assignment on Duke’s final scoring play of the night and ended up blocked by an offensive lineman. Soares’ misplacement on the play opened a gap for Anderson Castle to run the ball 66 yards and put the game out of N.C. State’s reach.
“They’re going to run the football, and you gotta win your gap. You gotta get off blocks, and our unblocked hats gotta make tackles,” Doeren said. “Obviously that didn’t happen. It’s disappointing. We’ve had three of those this year.”
N.C. State knows it can play better than it showed in Durham. Its offense put up a whopping 535 yards of total offense. That was the highest yardage since the Wolfpack recorded 538 yards against Charleston Southern in the 2022 season opener and the most against an FBS opponent since 2018 when it put up 655 against East Carolina.
It entered the game allowing opponents to convert on 50% of their third down chances but held Duke to 41%, showing clear improvement. But, it felt at times like the team regressed in certain areas.
“We just gotta play better. We came out swinging, doing our thing, and then we let teams get back into it,” linebacker Caden Fordham said. “We can’t let that happen. We gotta get in those positions. We gotta end the game. It’s plain and simple. We just can’t let teams back into it.”
Special teams, which has been relatively consistent, didn’t provide the stability that it’s typically known for.
“The bottom line is, too many turnovers, gave up too many points, didn’t stop them in certain situations, and shot ourselves in the foot too many times,” Doeren said. “It’s disappointing. We’re a better football team than that. I know they’ll learn from what happened tonight and tomorrow’s going to be a tough day watching this film, and these kids will work hard to get back to it.”
