Duke football hosts crosstown foe N.C. State seeking 7th win

Remember, remember, the month of November.

Fresh off an undefeated October, the Blue Devils will head into the final month of the regular season looking to improve upon a 1-19 November record during head coach David Cutcliffe's five years at the helm.

When Duke welcomes crosstown foe N.C. State to Wallace Wade Stadium Saturday at 4 p.m., the Blue Devils will have a chance to pick up their seventh win of the season—securing a winning record for the first time since 1994.

"Win or lose, it's still the best part of college football," Cutcliffe said about the final month of the regular season. "It's never easy, but it's not supposed to be easy. It's not for the average teams. We want to do something special, and we know what we have to do. Whether we will or won't, that's anybody's guess right now."

Not only are the Blue Devils (6-2, 2-2 in the ACC) trying to improve their standing for potential bowl bids, but they are also trying to assert themselves as North Carolina's premier football team. Last year Duke won both of its conference matchups against in-state rivals, defeating Wake Forest and North Carolina. Three of the Blue Devils' last four games this year are against in-state opponents, starting with the Wolfpack.

"It's a big game for us for lots of reasons, but mostly because it's a crosstown rival," Cutcliffe said. "I think it's fun for the fanbases to have this opportunity, for both schools, to have this game."

Duke enters Saturday's matchup on a four-game win streak, and the Wolfpack (3-5, 0-5) are on a four-game losing streak. Plagued by injuries, especially on the offensive side of the ball, N.C. State is winless in conference play and only has two wins against FBS teams.

Quarterback Brandon Mitchell broke his foot in the Wolfpack's season opener against Louisiana Tech and missed five games before returning to action against Florida State two weeks ago. But Mitchell has looked out of sync since his return, throwing two picks and no touchdowns against the Seminoles and then again against North Carolina last week. Backup Pete Thomas threw for more than 1,300 yards in Mitchell's stead, completing 60.8 percent of his passes. Duke will most likely see a combination of Mitchell and Thomas Saturday.

Although struggles at quarterback and injuries to key wide receivers Bryan Underwood and Johnathan Alston have hampered the Wolfpack offense, N.C. State's running game has found some success. The Wolfpack averages 184.1 rushing yards per game. But N.C. State only scores 23 points per game despite its success on the ground.

One bright spot for the Wolfpack this year has been its special teams, especially its kicking game. Junior Niklas Slade has hit 17-of-19 field goal attempts and has only one miss from inside 50 yards.

"Their place kicker is tremendous," Cutcliffe said. "Their punter is doing a good job. They're second in the conference in punt returns. They're doing a lot of things really well there."

The Blue Devils took advantage of a bye week to get healthy following their upset victory against Virginia Tech two weeks ago.

Senior cornerback Ross Cockrell went down with an ankle injury in the second quarter against the Hokies and only played one snap in the second half. Linebackers Kelby and Kyler Brown, who have both battled injuries this season, also spent much of the bye week working to get back to 100 percent.

"One of the biggest issues we've faced since we've been here is having enough players to stay healthy for November," Cutcliffe said. "We can't hide behind that right now. That's not who we are. We're a pretty healthy football team for November."

With a slew of healthy running backs, Cutcliffe and his staff made the decision to utilize senior tailback Juwan Thompson as a linebacker. Thompson recorded three tackles in one series against Virginia Tech, and will continue to see action on the defensive side of the ball. Thompson adds an element of speed to the banged up linebacking corps, a unit that has proved effective this season despite health issues.

Duke's experienced line and youthful but talented secondary have also contributed to the best Blue Devil defense in the Cutcliffe era. Duke has held its opponents scoreless in seven quarters during its past three games, including a first half shutout against Virginia Tech and second half shutouts against Navy and Troy. The Blue Devils are giving up just 22.5 points per game, the 36th-best scoring defense in the nation.

"This goes all the way back to spring practice and rebuilding this defensive system," Cutcliffe said. "[Defensive coordinator] Jim Knowles has done a tremendous job in that regard. I think it has made it easier for us to adjust and apply a few new things and find things that we need in the second half."

Duke has not played in Wallace Wade Stadium since its Oct. 12 matchup against the Midshipmen. The Blue Devils return to Durham for the first of four remaining games against ACC opponents and a chance to knock off an in-state rival that they have only played three times in the past decade.

"Human nature is going to take over when you play North Carolina State or North Carolina or Wake Forest, anybody that there is a close tie to," Cutcliffe said. "I like to see the [fans] get cranked up.... When I was at Ole Miss, it was LSU and Mississippi State. If you didn't change, then you didn't belong there. There is something wrong with you. Fan or player or coach, that's the kind of mentality you expect to see."