Duke (6-3, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) at N.C. State (5-4, 2-3), Saturday at 3:30 p.m. EST (ACC Network)
BetMGM College Football Odds: N.C. State by 3.
Series record: Duke leads 42-37-5.
What’s at stake?
Duke has lost two straight games, first in overtime to No. 13 SMU and then at No. 4 Miami. N.C. State has won two straight by winning at California and at home against Stanford. The Wolfpack can become bowl eligible while the Blue Devils are jockeying for bowl position in the standings.
Key matchup
Duke’s defensive front against N.C. State’s offense. The Blue Devils are No. 2 nationally in tackles for loss (8.6 per game) and 15th in sacks (2.89) to get teams in long-yardage situations. N.C. State’s offense has shown growth under freshman quarterback CJ Bailey, who is completing 69.5% of his passes.
Players to watch
Duke: QB Maalik Murphy. The Texas transfer has thrown for 20 touchdowns this year but he is completing just 58.9% of his passes.
N.C. State: WR KC Concepcion. He had a TD catch against Stanford, only his second since a three-TD game against Western Carolina to open the season.
Facts & figures
The Wolfpack’s 59 points against Stanford for the program’s best output in any ACC game. … N.C. State defensive end Davin Vann leads the nation with five forced fumbles. … Duke won last year’s meeting 24-3. … The teams formerly met almost every year from 1924-2003 before the ACC expanded to 12 teams, but the teams met just four times — 2005, 2009, 2013 and 2020 — in the years since while in opposite divisions that were eliminated last year. … Duke coach Manny Diaz worked as a Wolfpack assistant for six years (2000-05) under Chuck Amato. … Duke has won five of seven against instate foes, the losses being against North Carolina in 2022 and 2023.
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