North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary Hahn's Scouting Report: NC State at Duke
10/23/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 23, 2003
NC STATE (5-3, 2-2) at DUKE (2-5, 0-4)
DATE: Saturday, October 25, 2003
TIME: Kickoff: 1:00 p.m. (EDT) Wallace Wade Stadium, Durham, NC (33,941)
RADIO: Wolfpack Radio Network. AIRTIME: 12:00 p.m. (EDT)
TELEVISION: None
OPPONENT----Wake Forest used big plays on offense and defense to build a 42-0 halftime lead and then coasted to a 42-13 victory over Duke at Wallace Wade Stadium on Saturday. Tailback Chris Barclay rushed for a career-high 163 yards and three first-half touchdowns, including a 47-yarder, as WFU handed the Blue Devils their 29th straight ACC loss. The following day, Carl Franks was replaced as Duke's head coach by defensive coordinator, Ted Roof. Franks was 7-45 in his fifth season on the job.
The Demon Deacons (4-3, 2-2) played a nearly perfect first half without a turnover or penalty, and went 6-for-7 on third-down conversions in rebounding from a 24-7 loss to Georgia Tech - their worst scoring output in coach Jim Grobe's tenure. Meanwhile, Duke dropped its fourth straight game after a 2-1 start.
With a 42-point lead, Barclay did not play in the second half as Grobe substituted liberally. Wake Forest did almost all of its damage on the ground, running the ball 56 of 60 plays while piling up a season-high 256 yards.
Duke avoided a shutout when Mike Schneider, scored on a 2-yard keeper late in the third quarter. But the right-handed Duke quarterback hurt his left shoulder on a scramble with 9:58 left in the game and didn't return.
WFU's defensive hero was linebacker Kellen Brantley, who forced a fumble on Duke's second possession that set up Barclay's second TD. He also returned an interception 64 yards to give the Demon Deacons a 28-0 lead and batted down a fourth-down pass at the Wake Forest 25 late in the first half as Duke was trying to score.
Deacons quarterback, Cory Randolph, threw only four first-half passes, but his 44-yard completion to Jason Anderson set up Nick Burney's 5-yard TD run in the second quarter. There weren't many high-level performances for Duke. However, tackle Matt Zielinski (6-2, 290, Sr.) recorded 10 tackles, including four for loss.
On Monday, Roof told reporters that Schneider was ok and that he expected him to play against NC State. The true freshman quarterback is seventh in the ACC in passing (149.7 ypg.) and has completed 87 of 185 attempts for 1048 yards and 4 touchdowns with 4 interceptions. He is also the No. 3 rusher on the team with 172 yards and a touchdown.
Schneider's back up is junior Adam Smith. Last year against NC State, Smith completed 28 of 41 passes for 353 yards in a 24-22 loss. Duke scored a touchdown with just 16-seconds left in the game on Smith's 40-yard pass to Khary Sharpe, and then recovered an onside kick to set up a 65-yard field goal attempt that Brent Garber missed.
The Blue Devils have the No. 3 rushing offense in the ACC (149.6 ypg.) and lead the league in time of possession (32:45), but are last in scoring (15.1 ppg.) and passing efficiency. Averaging just 200 yards a game with only 6 passing touchdowns, Duke's inability to throw consistently and make big plays offensively has been a problem this season. Sharpe, the Blue Devils leading receiver, has 19 catches for 214 yards and no touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Reggie Love (6-4, 225) has caught three scoring passes.
The running game is anchored by tailback Chris Douglas (6-0, 190, Sr.) and fullback Alex Wade (6-1, 255, Sr.). They have combined for 736 yards and 5 touchdowns. Douglas ranks third in the ACC in all-purpose yards per game (103.7) and fourth in rushing (69.4). He's also caught 13 passes, making him the No. 4 receiver on the team.
The starting offensive line features four seniors and a junior --all are returning starters. Left tackle Drew Strojny (6-8, 300, Sr.) and right guard Rusty Wilson (6-3, 330, Sr.) are the headliners.
Defensively, the Blue Devils lead the ACC in pass defense, allowing 176 yards a game and only 6 touchdowns through the air. However, those numbers are a bit deceiving due to Duke's inability to stop the run. The Devils rushing defense, which has surrendered 18 touchdowns, is near the bottom of the ACC (189.3 ypg.).
Zielinski and junior end Phillip Alexander (6-4, 235, Jr.), the team leader in tackles for loss (16) and sacks (6), anchor the defensive line. Senior Ryan Fowler (6-4, 235) and Brendan Dewan (6-2, 210, So.) have combined for 121 tackles to lead Duke's linebackers. Safety Terrell Smith tops the team with 88 tackles and junior cornerback Kenneth Stanford has broken up a team-leading 7 passes (a figure that would easily lead NC State's team).
The Blue Devils are third in the ACC in kick returns (23.9) and in kickoff coverage (18.6). Junior Senterrio Landrum (5-9, 185) is third in the nation in kickoff returns (30.6) and leads the ACC while Douglas is also a dangerous returner and is one of only six players in ACC history to top the 5,000-mark in all-purpose yards.
Junior Trey McDonald (6-2, 215) is a pretty steady punter (30 attempts for a 40.4 yard average) and has not had a punt blocked this season. When Duke needs a pooch punt, junior Matt Brooks takes over. Six of his 12 punts have been downed inside the 20-yard line. Neither Garber (6-1, 195, Sr.) or Brooks have been standout place-kickers. Combined they are 4-9 in field goal accuracy with a 1-5 mark beyond 40 yards. Three of Garber's attempts have been blocked.
While NC State has defeated Duke in 11 of the last 12 years, eight of those 12 decisions have come by seven points or less, including Duke's lone victory during that span-- a 21-20 outcome in 1993. That game was played only five days after Barry Wilson announced his departure as Duke's coach effective at the end of that season.
INJURIES--NC State: OT Chris Colmer-Out, Parsonage Turner Syndrome; WR Sterling Hicks-Out, torn ACL; OG Ricky Fowler-Questionable, ACL sprain; DE Renaldo Moses-Out, torn ACL & MCL; CB Lamont Reid-Doubtful, shoulder; TB Josh Brown-Probable, Hip flexor/abdominal strain; TB T.A. McLendon-Doubtful, knee; TE T.J. Williams-Probable, knee sprain; OG Ashley Wingate-Out, broken leg.. Duke:QB Mike Schneider-Probable, shoulder; OG Rusty Wilson-Probable, hip.
