Duke heads into Raleigh with momentum, and the matchup with NC State brings a different kind of test. The Blue Devils are coming off a 47-2 rout of Boston College, and now they make the short 25-mile trip for an ACC game that carries conference positioning and in-state bragging rights.
One wrinkle makes this trip even more interesting: NC State is playing its first game since the firing of head coach Dave Doeren. Duke went 4-1 against Doeren during his time in Raleigh, but he won’t be on the sideline this time around after being let go before last week’s game against Cal. That leaves the Blue Devils facing what former Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins called a “zombified” Wolfpack team with nothing to lose at home in a rivalry setting.
“I think there’s even a two- to three-game bump,” he said. “All the relief is off, and we’re just going out there and having fun and playing...there’s definitely a bump.”
For Duke, the biggest football question may be whether its defense can handle NC State on third down. The Blue Devils have been excellent in that area, ranking fifth in the FBS by allowing opponents to convert just 27.5% of the time. That’s a strong number, but the Wolfpack present a serious challenge: they convert third downs at a 51.7% clip, which ranks ninth nationally.
That makes this the toughest third-down offense Duke has seen all season. If the Blue Devils can get off the field against NC State, it would say plenty about how they might hold up later against teams like Miami, which ranks second in third-down offense, and Wake Forest, which sits 13th.
The other side of the ball gives Duke a chance to attack where NC State has struggled. The Wolfpack have allowed 235.1 passing yards per game, a number that has put their secondary under pressure all season. Duke quarterback Walker Eget has thrown for more than 200 yards in four straight games, a stretch that suggests he may be settling in as the season closes.
NC State did show some life in coverage last week against Cal, which entered that game ranked 25th nationally in passing offense. So Duke’s passing game will need to prove it can do more than simply take advantage of a shaky defense on paper.
The Wolfpack also have a receiver starting to come alive in Chance Robinson. The Miami transfer was quiet over the first four weeks, never topping 15 yards in any game.
Then he broke through against Wake Forest on Oct. 10, catching his first touchdown of the season and finishing with 53 yards. He followed that up last week with four catches for a season-high 76 yards and another score.
Duke’s secondary has been solid, ranking 33rd in passing yards allowed, but Robinson gives NC State a target that could force the Blue Devils into some uncomfortable moments.
And then there’s Nate Sheppard, who remains the centerpiece of Duke’s offense. NC State’s run defense is ranked 53rd, and that unit now has the job of trying to slow down a back who just put together a massive day against Boston College. Sheppard scored five rushing touchdowns last week, a season high in a year where he has been a Heisman Trophy dark horse.
The Wolfpack’s front has already seen what that kind of damage can look like. Illinois, which ranks just one spot ahead of NC State in run defense, allowed Sheppard to run for 147 yards and score three total touchdowns. That’s the standard NC State is up against if it wants to keep Duke from controlling the game on the ground.
In Other News...
Dukes Bowl Picture Is Taking Shape In A Way Fans Will Notice
Dukes bowl picture is starting to come into focus after a 47-2 rout of Boston College pushed the Blue Devils into bowl eligibility for a fifth straight season. The win not only kept the momentum rolling, it also gave the program another reminder of how steady the climb has been under this run of success, with the postseason now firmly part of the conversation again.
Nate Sheppards school-record five touchdowns only sharpened the attention around where Duke might land next, and the early projections have already put the Blue Devils in a range of intriguing matchups. Different outlets have floated possible pairings with Arizona, Nebraska, South Florida, Wisconsin and Oregon, which means the waiting game now shifts from whether Duke will be bowling to where the Blue Devils will be headed when the bracket finally settles. [Read more 🡒]
Duke Just Brought Back A Familiar Name To Scheyers Staff
Duke is bringing a familiar face back into the program for the 2026-27 season, adding former Blue Devil Rodney Hood to Jon Scheyers staff as a coaching intern. Hoods return gives the program another link to its recent past, and it comes after an eight-year NBA career that kept him around the pro game long after his time in Durham ended.
Hoods next step in coaching follows his most recent work with the Memphis Hustle in 2024, and hell now be part of Scheyers staff as he continues that transition. For Duke, it is another sign of a program that has leaned on its former players in different ways, with Scheyer publicly backing Hood as he moves from playing into coaching. [Read more 🡒]
Duke Faces A Huge Road Test As Injured Defense Meets Clemson
Dukes ACC Championship opener at Clemson arrives with plenty of context attached, starting with a road setting that has not been kind to visiting teams and a matchup against one of the leagues more familiar postseason names. The Blue Devils head into the first-round game at Historic Riggs Field on Nov. 4 with Jack Ottley and Ethan Congleton carrying much of the creative and finishing load, a useful pairing as Duke tries to navigate a tournament bracket that sends the winner on to face either North Carolina or California.
The bigger concern is what Duke can bring defensively after dealing with injuries that have complicated the back line and forced the staff to manage minutes carefully. A few players have returned recently, which gives the Blue Devils some needed stability, but this is still the kind of test that can expose any lingering rust. Against Clemson, Duke will need those reinforcements to hold up quickly, because one slip in a single-elimination setting can end the season in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]