Penalties, mistakes and turnovers were the name of the game against Duke. It wasn’t about which team outperformed the other, it was about which team was able to shoot themselves in the foot the least.
Coming off one of its best performances of this roller coaster season against Stanford, NC State football (5-5, 2-4 ACC) regressed in every single way on the offensive side of the ball against Duke (7-3, 3-3 ACC). Two fumbles and an interception by freshman quarterback CJ Bailey, a safety to start the game, multiple dropped passes, less than three yards per carry on the ground and a missed field goal all caused NC State to take steps back instead of forward.
“We played good enough in that game for us to win and we just didn’t connect offensively enough,” said head coach Dave Doeren. “Collectively, it’s not good enough. It’s a we — us and our business — and there isn’t any blame other than everybody and it starts with me.”
For the first time in his career, Bailey completed less than 50% of his passes and for the first time since Northern Illinois, he threw less than 200 yards.
Bailey didn’t have any time in the pocket to stand in and make accurate throws. Constantly under pressure, the freshman was scrambling for his life on almost every play, often settling for checkdowns or watching his throws end up incomplete. Only junior tight end Justin Joly ended the day with more than 50 receiving yards as he was the beneficiary of multiple downfield strikes.
“I missed a lot of shots, a lot of throws that I wish I could have back,” Bailey said. “Our offense we drive the ball every time, every game we move the ball we just got to finish.”
Neither team’s quarterback was helped out by the run game. The highest rusher on both teams totaled just 36 yards as the Pack averaged 2.9 yards per carry and the Blue Devils averaged just 1.1 yards per carry. The defensive fronts were dominant as both recorded more than eight tackles for loss, constantly shutting down inside runs and outside screen plays.
The game started out just as bad as it could have gone for the Pack offense. After the defense forced a quick three-and-out on the Blue Devils’ opening drive, Bailey was sacked for a safety. On its next drive, Bailey’s woes continued when he fumbled the ball at his own 32-yard line and turned it over.
There were two more three-and-outs before the Wolfpack offense began to work its way onto Duke’s side of the field. On five of the next six drives, the red-and-white made it into the red zone but had to settle for a field goal, converting all but one.
The four field goals tied the game at 12, but after Duke was able to put together two touchdown drives in the second half, the Pack had to come back from a 14-point deficit and field goals weren’t going to cut it.
Blue Devil quarterback Maalik Murphy performed as necessary, completing 22 of his 31 passes for two touchdowns. He also added one with his legs in the third quarter when he capped off Duke’s longest drive of the game with a three-yard touchdown.
Two drives later, Murphy found wide receiver Sahmir Hagans open in the flat early in the fourth, ultimately putting the game out of reach for the Pack. Murphy’s biggest plays came late in the first quarter when he led a three-play 75-yard touchdown drive, concluding with a 45-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jordan Moore.
The Pack simply couldn’t match the big plays from Duke. Its only big play came from redshirt freshman nickel Tamarcus Cooley when he ripped the ball out of Duke wide receiver Eli Pancol’s hands and ran the ball 70 yards the other way.
Getting tackled at the Duke 20, Cooley returned the ball to his offense but failed to add to the score on his return.
“I really felt like I let my teammates down, [I’m] faster than that,” Cooley said. “I felt like I gave up on that play knowing I was supposed to score.”
Penalties hindered the Pack’s success, often at the most inconvenient of times. Offensively, whether it be a holding or false start, penalties were taken when NC State was just a few yards away from a first down and extending the drive. On defense, penalties extended Duke’s drives, giving a team that was 0-9 on third downs more opportunities that the Pack couldn’t afford.
After taking so many steps forward in its recent games, to take this many steps back against Duke is a scary sight. With two games left in the regular season, the Wolfpack now has very few opportunities to win a sixth game and become bowl eligible.
On the road against Georgia Tech — a team that took down No. 4 Miami today — and on the road against UNC, who no matter what year will always be a close game. The Pack enters both games with its back against the wall, scrounging just to make a bowl game.
“We have two opportunities to finish and that’s what they’re going to remember is how they finish,” Doeren said. “We need to do a great job one at a time and it obviously starts with corrections from this game, getting the guys back in the right frame of mind and getting back to work.”
NC State will look to correct these mistakes and right the ship in the week and a half it has before it plays at Georgia Tech on Nov. 21 at 7:30 p.m.
