North Carolina State and Duke have been going in opposite directions in recent weeks heading into their Atlantic Coast Conference game Saturday afternoon in Raleigh, N.C.
The Wolfpack (5-4, 2-3) have won two in a row to get their season back on track going into their home finale.
“We have 20 players on our team that are out of eligibility,” North Carolina State coach Dave Doeren said. “After this game, they’ll never walk through that tunnel with their uniform on again to play a game.”
The Blue Devils (6-3, 2-3) have lost back-to-back games against nationally ranked opponents, falling to SMU and Miami.
“I think we’ve shown that in spurts we can play with anybody,” Duke coach Manny Diaz said.
The Blue Devils led in the second half of both of their most recent ACC road losses, to Georgia Tech and Miami (53-31 last Saturday). So there’s plenty to build on for Duke.
“To go challenge ourselves to go be in this position again,” Diaz said.
North Carolina State’s last two games have resulted in triumphs against ACC newcomers Cal and Stanford, but now the Wolfpack have a date with a neighboring rival.
Last year, Duke defeated the Wolfpack 24-3 at home, though North Carolina State responded by winning its next five games.
For Wolfpack running back Jordan Waters, he’ll try to be on the winning side for the second year in a row but in a different uniform. He played in parts of five seasons for Duke before transferring to North Carolina State. He’s the Wolfpack’s leading rusher with 375 yards, while his five total touchdowns (four rushing, one receiving) rank second on the team.
North Carolina State has been humming on offense as freshman quarterback CJ Bailey continues to adjust to being the clear-cut starter. He has thrown for 11 touchdowns compared with four interceptions. The Wolfpack’s 59-28 victory against Stanford last week marked the most points the team has scored against an ACC foe.
Duke’s offense has been erratic at times. But Diaz said signs of growth came in the past two games when the opponents switched out of man-to-man coverages in the secondary. Yet now, he said, the Blue Devils must show a better attack against zone coverages.
Diaz was a North Carolina State assistant coach for six seasons (2000-05) under former coach Chuck Amato.
Because they were in opposite ACC divisions for years, this will be just the fourth time in Doeren’s 12 seasons that the Wolfpack play Duke. The home stadiums for the teams are 22 miles apart.
“Now we get to play every year,” Doeren said. “That will add to that.”
