Duke football relies on run game, defense in 24-3 win over NC State, stays perfect in ACC

Henry Belin did just enough in his first start as Duke’s quarterback and the Blue Devils defense took it from there.

Starting in place of the injured Riley Leonard, Belin threw a pair of first-half touchdown passes as the No. 17 Blue Devils beat N.C. State, 24-3, Saturday night at Wallace Wade Stadium.

Belin only completed four passes in his first career start as Duke played without Leonard for the first time since November 2021.

But Duke’s defense remained stingy as the Wolfpack were held scoreless after taking a 3-0 lead less than two minutes into the game. Duke (5-1, 2-0 ACC) held N.C. State (4-3, 1-2 ACC) to 305 total yards.

Here are three takeaways as Duke beat N.C. State in the Wolfpack’s first game at Wallace Wade Stadium since 2013:

Run game fuels Duke offense

Playing without Leonard and starting tight end Nicky Dalmolin (lower body),the Blue Devils were limited offensively.

Belin threw an early interception in his own territory, which led to N.C. State taking an early 3-0 lead. Despite Belin finishing just 4 of 12 for 107 passing yards, the Blue Devils rushed for 196 yards to provide enough offense.

Jordan Waters had the strongest night among the running backs, finishing with 123 yards. That included an 83-yard touchdown run on Duke’s first play from scrimmage of the second half that gave the Blue Devils a three-touchdown lead.

The Blue Devils averaged a healthy 6.8 yards per carry. That’s against an NC State defense which had allowed just 3.3 yards per carry this season.

Dominating Duke defense

Duke allowed just 11.2 points per game over its first five games, good for No. 4 nationally in scoring defense. Though the Wolfpack ran more 28 plays from scrimmage than Duke on Saturday night, the Blue Devils’ points allowed per game will shrink even further.

N.C. State averaged 4.4 yards per play while finding success on just 4 of 15 third down plays. The Wolfpack were also 1 of 4 on fourth downs.

The Blue Devils recorded eight tackles for losses, with eight different players contributing to that total. Tre Freeman and Aeneas Peebles led the way with 1.5 TFLs each. Freeman also intercepted a pass to set up a Duke touchdown.

Duke also had three sacks.

The dominance started early and set a tone that never changed. Belin threw an interception on Duke’s first possession, giving the Wolfpack the ball at the Blue Devils 38. But the Wolfpack gained zero yards on three plays with Freeman and Duke safety Jaylen Stinson combining on a TFL on N.C. State’s first play from scrimmage.

Baffling Wolfpack offense

The Wolfpack took a 3-0 lead on Brayden Narveson’s booming 57-yard field goal but Duke’s defense served notice yards and points would be difficult for the Pack to obtain.

It’s no secret the Wolfpack offense has struggled all season. Offensive coordinator Robert Anae described the last several weeks as “topsy turvy.” He said it hadn’t met expectations and done a lot of soul searching.

N.C. State might need to do more of that soul searching after its baffling performance at Duke.

In the first half, MJ Morris completed 5-of-12 passes and threw an interception, which the Blue Devils turned into a touchdown.

The confusing part wasn’t the rough start. Morris started 1-of-7 against Marshall last week and managed to settle in. No, the confusing part came in the rotation.

Kevin “KC” Concepcion was the leading rusher — with 36 yards — behind Morris and only targeted as a receiver once in the first half. Concepcion had five catches in the second, including hauling in a couple of passes for first downs.

Meanwhile, Anthony Smith — who had only played on defense this year — was targeted twice in the first two quarters. Then, he was the intended receiver for a fourth quarter, fourth-down deep ball that could’ve been a touchdown. He dropped the pass.

Running backs Demarcus Jones and Michael Allen were among the passing targets, as well.

Here are earlier updates from the game:

Waters breaks free for long Duke TD run

Duke running back Jordan Waters scored a touchdown in his sixth consecutive game, this one on an 83-yard run, extending the Blue Devils’ lead over NC State to 24-3 in the third quarter.

The scoring run, on Duke’s first play from scrimmage in the second half, is tied for the third longest run in Blue Devils program history.

Halftime update

Duke’s defense bottled up the penalty-plagued NC State offense over the first two quarters, helping the Blue Devils take a 17-3 halftime lead over the Wolfpack.

N.C. State managed just 138 total yards of offense in the first half. The Wolfpack has also been called for nine penalties, costing it 67 yards.

After N.C. State took an early 3-0 lead after Duke quarterback Henry Belin threw an interception in Duke territory, the Blue Devils responded. Starting in place of injured starting quarterback Riley Leonard, Belin fired a 69-yard touchdown pass to Jalon Calhoun.

In the second quarter, Belin’s 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jeremiah Hasley pushed Duke’s lead to 17-3.

Duke started slowly on offense but that group has clicked since its first two drives. The Blue Devils had 203 total yards, including 96 rushing yards.

NC State quarterback MJ Morris completed 5 of 12 passes for a mere 39 yards in the first half. He was intercepted once.

Turnover leads to Duke TD

One play after linebacker Tre Freeman intercepted an MJ Morris pass, Duke’s Henry Belin tossed an 8-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Hasley giving the Blue Devils a 17-3 lead with 11:36 to play in the second quarter. It’s the first career touchdown catch for Hasley, a freshman tight end who is starting because senior tight end Nicky Dalmolin is sidelined with a lower-body injury.

Pelino FG extends Duke lead

A promising Duke drive stalled due to penalties, but Todd Pelino salvaged points by kicking a career-best 53-yard field goal to give the Blue Devils a 10-3 lead with 12:45 to play until halftime.

See photos of NC State’s football game against Duke in Durham

Belin comes through to give Duke a lead

After throwing an interception on Duke’s first possession, Blue Devils quarterback Henry Belin atoned with a 69-yard touchdown pass to Jalon Calhoun to give Duke a 7-3 lead over NC State with 6:26 to play in the first quarter.

Narveson’s career high puts NC State on top

Cornerback Shyheim Battle intercepted Duke quarterback Henry Belin’s pass on the first drive of the game. The Wolfpack was unable to find the end zone on the turnover, but kicker Brayden Narveson made a field goal to give N.C. State an early 3-0 lead.

The 57-yarder was a career best for Narveson, and, according to N.C. State officials, a program record.

Pregame updates

As expected, Duke will be without starting quarterback Riley Leonard due to the high ankle sprain he suffered late in the Blue Devils’ 21-14 loss to Notre Dame on Sept. 30.

Redshirt freshman Henry Belin will get his first career start at quarterback for Duke. He has been practicing with the first team all week due to Leonard’s injury situation. The Blue Devils are confident Leonard will return this month, perhaps as soon as next week’s game at No. 3 Florida State. If not, he has a good chance of playing the following Saturday at No. 14 Louisville.

What wasn’t expected it tight end Nicky Dalmolin being unavailable for Duke. The senior tight end is sidelined with a lower body injury. He was using crutches during the team’s Blue Devil Walk from the team bus to the locker room earlier Saturday.

N.C. State’s safety corps features just three players for the game, with Devan Boykin and Bishop Fitzgerald listed as the possible starter at strong safety. Sean Brown is listed as the starter at free safety. Fitzgerald is listed as the backup there, as well. It lost graduate student Rakeim Ashford to a season-ending injury during its last game against Marshall.

Coming into the season, the team expected to be four deep at the position. Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren said its situation now is “last man available.”