State faces Duke for first time since 2003

Separated by just 20 miles, Duke and N.C. State are natural rivals. In 1924, State played its first game against Trinity College, as Duke was formerly known, winning 14-0. Following the first meeting, the two schools played annually for the next 80 years with the exception of the 1944.

But ACC expansion forced the conference to create two divisions. When the Wolfpack was placed in the Atlantic division and the Blue Devils were placed in the Coastal division and the annual rivalry ended. Duke coach David Cutcliffe said the fact that the two teams have not played since 2003 is an unfortunate side effect of the conference expanding.

“Obviously the conference had to make some tough decisions on the split,” Cutcliffe said. “It’s great fun to live in this region. You always feel like you’re behind enemy lines. I see N.C. State stickers and flags and I see North Carolina stickers and flags everywhere I go. It’s a very competitive situation. I think we get a sense of it over here. There is a lot of pride each school has in their programs.”

The Wolfpack enters the game against Duke as the only team in the ACC without a conference victory. Duke, on the other hand, is 4-4 overall and 1-3 in the ACC with a chance to become bowl eligible after going 1-11 and winless in conference last season.

Duke quarterback Thaddeus Lewis has emerged as one of the ACC’s top signal callers. He is second in the conference in passing with 1552 yards on the season and 12 touchdowns. Redshirt junior linebacker Ray Michel said Duke’s offensive line is a big reason for the Blue Devils’ offensive success this season.

“I would say they are very aggressive as a unit,” Michel said. “The offensive linemen get into the next level pretty good. They’re a pretty good football team all-around right now.”

Following State’s fourth consecutive loss — a 27-24 defeat against Maryland on Oct. 25 — coach Tom O’Brien said the staff will examine different player combinations on the defensive side of the ball for the Duke game. The Pack will start redshirt freshman Audie Cole over freshman Dwayne Maddox at weakside linebacker against Duke. It will also give the nod to junior Clem Johnson over redshirt freshman Justin Byers at safety.

“We’re limited to the number of changes we can make. We did shuffle the deck a little bit and we’ll see how it works on Saturday,” O’Brien said. “I think Dwayne [Maddox] is just a little bit overwhelmed right now –  We’re looking for much more productivity out of the [weakside linebacker] spot that we haven’t been getting since Nate [Irving] went down.”

With six wins required to reach bowl eligibility, State must finish the season with four wins against its last four opponents to have a chance at a bowl game. O’Brien said it was crucial to have a bye week after the loss against Maryland.

“It was good that we had the open week,” O’Brien said. “Because we had come so close at Maryland, that would have been a tough one to turn around and play. I think the team has responded well.”

When the Pack played at Duke in 2003, the crowd at Wallace Wade Stadium consisted primarily of Pack fans. Cutcliffe said he has place emphasis that Duke fans show up to support the team in 2008.

“I know the North Carolina State people follow their team,” Cutcliffe said. “I know they will probably show up here in numbers. But that can be a good thing as long as our people certainly show up and I believe they will.”