Duke turned the first half in Raleigh into a showcase, and then Andrew Pellicciotta made sure nobody would forget how it ended.
The Blue Devils had already built a huge cushion behind a ruthless offensive start. Nate Sheppard was ripping through NC State for 168 yards and two touchdowns on only 13 carries, while Walker Eget kept the attack moving with an efficient 18-of-25 line for 173 yards and a touchdown pass to Jaivon Solomon. That score pushed Duke ahead 24-3 with 26 seconds left in the half.
Then came the play that swallowed everything else.
NC State tried to squeeze out one last bit of momentum before halftime, pushing into field-goal range and sending out a 50-yard attempt on the final snap of the half. The kick fell short, and Pellicciotta, the sophomore safety who had missed the previous two games with an injury, caught it and raced 109 yards the other way for a kick-six.
WHAT A WAY TO END THE HALF! ANDREW PELLICCIOTTA 109 YARDS!!! pic.twitter.com/ObchjXtY7C
- Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) November 7, 2026
It was the kind of return that looked impossible in real time. Pellicciotta reversed field twice, made a string of defenders miss, and turned a routine desperation kick into a backbreaking score. He looked plenty healthy on that run.
By halftime, Duke led 31-3, and the bigger picture was hard to ignore. Manny Diaz has the Blue Devils rolling at the right time, and this one mattered with what’s still ahead. Duke still has road games at Miami and Wake Forest, with Clemson coming to Durham in between, and both the Hurricanes and the Demon Deacons have been the top two teams in the ACC all year.
What’s clicking now is the full package. Duke is playing complementary football better than it has all season.
Sheppard has the look of a legitimate Heisman Trophy contender, but the emergence of Eget and the passing game has given the offense balance and made it tougher to load up on the run. If opponents don’t commit everything to stopping Sheppard, he can do exactly what he was doing to NC State.
The defense has been just as sharp, holding the Wolfpack to three points, and the special teams unit just delivered a moment that may have slammed the door shut.
In Other News...
Dukes Hot Start Is Raising An Even Bigger Question
Dukes early season has opened with the kind of lopsided wins that make people take notice, but the bigger takeaway so far is the way Jon Scheyers group has carried itself through them. The Blue Devils have looked sharp in their first two blowout games, and the message coming out of the locker room has been less about the scoreboard than the habits behind it. Dame Sarr pointed to the teams focus on fundamentals and constant improvement, which fits the tone Scheyer has tried to establish from the start.
For a program with championship expectations, the hot start is useful only if it turns into something sturdier. Dukes players keep talking about the collective mindset, and that matters when the season is still young and the margin for error feels small. The early results have been encouraging, but the real question hanging over this group is how far that approach can take it when the schedule tightens and the stakes rise. [Read more 🡒]
Duke Gets A Timely Boost For A Road Test That Matters
Duke heads into an ACC road trip to NC State with a little more momentum and a little more health than it had a week ago. The Blue Devils just handled Boston College, and now they get a chance to keep building against an in-state rival they have beaten in each of the last two meetings, a stretch that has helped make this matchup feel a bit more meaningful than a standard midseason conference game.
The injury report is where the encouraging news really starts to matter. Several Duke players are listed as probable, and one key defensive piece is set to return after missing the past two games, which gives the Blue Devils a better chance to match up with an NC State team that has been hard to pin down. The Wolfpack have flashed plenty of scoring in their wins, but they have also given up a lot of points in their losses, leaving Duke with a road test that feels winnable if it can carry over the same edge it showed last time out. [Read more 🡒]
Duke Faces A Road Test That Could Shape Its Brutal Stretch Ahead
Duke heads into its trip to NC State with some momentum after a strong recent performance, but the Blue Devils are about to find out how much that carries on the road. At 6-2, they have put themselves in a solid position, yet this next matchup arrives with plenty of uncertainty around the opponent after NC State moved on from head coach Dave Doeren and then bounced back to win its last game under an interim coach.
For Duke, that makes this more than just another conference date. It is the kind of road test that can either steady a team before a difficult stretch or expose how much work still remains, especially against an opponent that just showed it can respond to change. The projection points to a close game, which only adds to the sense that this one could tell us a lot about where Duke stands heading into the grind ahead. [Read more 🡒]