Duke Pulls Away Late to Defeat NC State

RALEIGH, NC- The visiting Duke Blue Devils were victorious on Senior Day as Duke defeated NC State by a score of 29-19 Saturday afternoon from Carter-Finley Stadium.

Kanoah Vinesett scored 12 of the wolfpack's 19 points. Vinesett becomes the 11^th Wolfpack kicker to kick four field goals in a game and the first since Brayden Narveson kicked four against UNC in 2023.

NC State (5-5,2-4) totaled 263 yards of offense, which included 184 passing yards and 84 rushing yards. The Wolfpack held Duke to 31 rushing yards, had more total plays, converted more third and fourth downs, and was 5-6 from the red zone but could not come away with the win.

Going 16-39, CJ Bailey completed 41% of his passes, the lowest percentage of any of his starts this season. Bailey led the Wolfpack ground game with 10 rushes for 36 yards.

Justin Joly once again led the receiving core with four receptions for 52 yards. Wesley Grimes was the lone Wolfpack to find the endzone as he scored his first touchdown of the season and caught three passes for 44 yards.

Sean Brown, named one of 14 semifinalists for the Butkus award earlier in the week, led the Wolfpack defense with 10 total tackles, of which half were solo.

It was a slow start for the NC State offense as Duke recorded a safety on the first offensive drive for the Wolfpack. It was the first safety allowed in four years with the last coming against Syracuse in 2020.

With Duke driving down the field just before the half, the momentum swung in favor of the Wolfpack as Temarcus Cooley stripped the ball from the Duke receiver's hands and returned it 70 yards to set up a Vinesett field goal with six seconds left.

Despite Duke scoring the first 12 points of the game, NC State answered with 12 of their own, tying the game in the third quarter before allowing a Duke touchdown that would see the Blue Devils take the lead and not look back.

The only touchdown for the Wolfpack came in the fourth quarter as Bailey found Grimes wide-open in the end zone to trim the Duke lead to 26-19.

Despite holding the Duke offense to 0-9 on third down. Duke made just enough plays to keep NC State from tying the game. Todd Pelino for the Blue Devils made a 50-yard field goal in the first half and a 49-yard field goal just before the two-minute timeout to put Duke ahead 29-19 and halt the Wolfpack comeback.

UP NEXT: The Wolfpack get another week of rest with their second bye week of the season next week before they travel to Atlanta for a Thursday conference clash with Georgia Tech on Thursday, Nov. 21, at 7:30 pm on ESPN.

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Team Stats

CJ Bailey

Players Mentioned

CJ Bailey

Sean Brown

Wesley Grimes

Justin Joly

Brayden Narveson

Kanoah Vinesett