NC State's defense struggles to stop Duke's explosive offense

By Noah Fleischman

DURHAM — After conquering one “House of Horrors” in its comeback win at Wake Forest last Thursday night, NC State was out to right another ship at Duke on Saturday afternoon.

The Wolfpack had lost four of its last five against the Blue Devils, including its previous two trips to Wallace Wade Stadium, as it looked to earn its first win in Durham since 2008.

But instead of capitalizing on its early-season momentum, NC State’s defense struggled to slow Duke’s high-powered offense in a 45-33 loss, highlighted by Blue Devils running back Anderson Castle’s 66-yard touchdown run with 2:19 to play to seal the victory for the hosts.

Sophomore quarterback CJ Bailey threw for 364 yards with 2 touchdowns, 3 interceptions and a lost fumble, while redshirt sophomore running back Hollywood Smothers posted 123 yards and a touchdown on 17 rushing attempts. Sophomore wideout Terrell Anderson, meanwhile, logged a career-best 166 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns on just 6 catches.

Here are TheWolfpacker.com’s instant observations from NC State’s first loss of the 2025 campaign.

Defense struggled to get a stop

NC State’s defense has been able to control the second half in each of its first two games against Power Conference opponents — Virginia and Wake Forest. But at Duke, it wasn’t able to. 

Instead, the Blue Devils’ offense was able to do nearly everything it wanted to just before halftime and for most of the second half that followed. Duke, which trailed 20-7 late in the second quarter, scored three straight touchdowns to seize all of the momentum.

Duke was able to do it efficiently, too. 

The Blue Devils posted a 17-yard touchdown pass from QB Darian Mensah to Landen King, who “Mossed” redshirt freshman safety Ronnie Royal III in the end zone, via a 10-play, 72-yard drive late in the third quarter. The Blue Devils were then able to strike quickly after a Bailey interception, using just two plays for Anderson Castle to plunge into the end zone from 1 yard out before they used four plays to go 75 yards for a 33-yard touchdown strike from Mensah.

Even when NC State’s defense was finally able to force a three-and-out late in the third quarter, Duke’s offense didn’t need much help to get rolling again. The Blue Devils added a field goal to their total after the Wolfpack went four-and-out on the ensuing drive. 

In all, Duke’s average drive lasted five plays and went 39 yards as it scored on seven of its 12 possessions — 6 touchdowns and a field goal. The Blue Devils, which only had 149 yards in the first half, added 270 in the second half to finish with 419. Duke’s ability to move the ball on early downs allowed it to weather the storm of being just 5-for-12 on third-down conversions against the NC State defense.

The Blue Devils’ offense posted 13 explosive plays, including nine through the air for 191 total yards and three touchdowns.

Not a pretty day for special teams … again

It hasn’t been a banner season for NC State’s special teams unit through the first three weeks. In the opener, redshirt freshman kicker Nick Konieczynski missed a pair of field goal attempts (40 and 46 yards, respectively), while the Wolfpack allowed Virginia to return a 48-yard punt return in Week 2 before Wake Forest opened last Thursday night’s game with a 98-yard kickoff return touchdown. 

And it only continued at Duke — this time with two different miscues that cost NC State critical points in the first half. 

At first, it seemed like NC State forced Duke to punt from Wolfpack territory on the Blue Devils’ first drive of the afternoon. But as Duke lined up to give NC State the ball back, redshirt freshman defensive lineman Josh Alexander-Felton jumped offsides. It allowed the Blue Devils to continue their drive, converting on fourth-and-4 before scoring a touchdown later in the series. 

It didn’t stop there, though. Midway through the second quarter, after a freshman quarterback Will Wilson 1-yard touchdown plunge, NC State redshirt junior kicker Kanoah Vinesett missed the point-after attempt.

Those two miscues cost the Wolfpack 8 points, but they weren’t the end of the woes. 

NC State opted to attempt a 25-yard field goal midway through the third quarter, looking to cut into Duke’s 9-point lead, but it was blocked. Blue Devils defensive end Wesley Williams was easily able to cruise through the middle of the Wolfpack’s protection to blow up the scoring chance, Vinesett’s first missed field goal of the 2025 campaign.