#image_title
0
0
Durham, N.C. — Sept. 18, 2025
This Saturday the Duke Blue Devils (1-2, 0-0) will play host to the visiting NC State Wolfpack (3-0, 1-0) at Wallace-Wade Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 4 pm EST. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2. The two Tobacco Road rivals have only played 6 times since 2008 despite being separated by only 24 miles. The Blue Devils have 4 out of the last 5 contests in the series including a 29-19 victory over the Wolfpack in Raleigh last season. The Blue Devils also own the overall advantage with a 43-37-5 record against their Big 4 rival.
The Devils went Down to Louisiana Looking for a Win to Steal
The season has not gotten off to the promising start in the win-loss for the Blue Devil faithful. Coming off of back-to-back losses against Illinois at home and Tulane on the road. Despite great games from Darian Mensah and Nate Sheppard, the Blue Devils fell behind early 14-0 to the host Green Wave after the first quarter. The lead proved to be too much to overcome for the Blue Devils despite a strong second half.
With the Devils falling behind early, Mensah was forced into focusing on the Duke passing attack as he finished the game 30-51 for 313 yards and 3 touchdown passes. Running back Nate Sheppard ran 5 times for 75 yards to head the Blue Devil rushing attack. The Devils have relied heavily on the passing game in the early part of the season as Mensah already has 1036 yards passing to go along with his 8 touchdown passes. Cooper Barkate leads Duke with 14 catches for 272 yards over the 1st 3 games to lead the Blue Devils in receiving.
Make No Mistake About it
Despite the offensive firepower put on display from the Blue Devils, it has been their inefficiency on defense that has let Duke down this season. The Devils are also coughing up the football as they carry with them a -6 turnover margin through their first 3 contests. Duke is also averaging 6 penalties per game for over 56 yards. These crucial mishaps are one of the primary reasons the Devils are sitting at 1-2 headed into this Week 4 contest with the Wolfpack. This week will be crucial for them to get back on track if they hope to fulfill their preseason goal of winning the ACC in coach Manny Diaz’ second season in Durham.
The Stars are out In Raleighwood
For the NC State Wolfpack, life is good in Raleigh. The Wolfpack have gotten off to a blazing 3-0 start relying on their 2 emerging stars on offense, CJ Bailey and Hollywood Smothers. The Wolfpack have shown new life in Coach Dave Doeren’s 13th season as Head Coach of NC State. Thanks to stability at the QB position from sophomore CJ Bailey, and a running back who refuses to be brought down on first contact, the Wolfpack offense is humming like a well-oiled machine in 2025.
Bailey has been efficient completing almost 71% of his passes while amassing 719 yards passing and 5 touchdowns through the air. Bailey has shown drastically improved decision-making and impeccable timing on his throws leading the Wolfpack to back-to-back 2nd half comebacks against UVA and Wake Forest. It was that demonstration of leadership and poise that earned Bailey to be voted as the youngest Captain in Coach Dave Doeren’s tenure.
He is also showing his dual-threat ability adding another 3 touchdowns rushing. All of that production while only throwing 1 interception over his first three games. That efficiency has led to an 84.5 QBR rating, one of the tops in the ACC among qualified quarterbacks.
Not to be outdone by his quarterback, Daylan “Hollywood” Smothers has been a one-man wrecking ball in the early-going. Coming off a career high 164 yards rushing against Wake Forest, Smothers was the clear-cut winner of the “who’s the better running back” award in Winston-Salem last Thursday night. The talk going into that contest was “How is NC State going to stop Demond Claiborne?” After the night was over, Deacon fans were asking “How could we not stop Hollywood?” Smothers is averaging 6.0 yards per carry behind a punishing offensive line. He also does it all in the passing game showing his ability to pick up free blitzers and sneak his way out of the backfield to provide a nice security blanket for Bailey. The Devils will need to find an answer for the Wolfpack’s star-studded backfield if they hope to have any chance at home.
Defense Optional??
Both of these teams have struggled at times early on in the season with keeping their opponents off the scoreboard especially early. Both teams have also shown tremendous adjustments in the 2nd half by their defenses to warrant asking the question: Which defense will show up for both teams? The Wolfpack were able to completely shut down the Demon Deacon offense last week in the 2nd half, flashing the potential to be a formidable barrier to opposing offenses. The scoreless Deacon second half allowed the Wolfpack to come back for the second straight week to earn the victory
The Blue Devils meanwhile were able to hold the Green Wave to just 10 points in the second half of their game last week. The Devils were almost able to pull off the comeback themselves in a hotly contested road contest. Duke will look to that performance to build off of this week against a very confident Wolfpack offense.
A True Tossup
With both teams looking for consistency in their performance, this game truly is poised to be another in a long line of close games that come down to the wire. The spread this week is only 3.5 per ESPN with FPI giving each team a virtual 50-50 chance of winning. The outcome of the game will likely be determined by which team controls the time of possession and wins the turnover battle. Each team would love to add another win to this long-standing Tobacco Road rivalry.
About the Author
