Fresh off a dominant 47-2 win over Boston College, Duke won’t have to travel far for this week’s ACC showdown; the Blue Devils will make the 25-mile trip to Raleigh for a date with the NC State Wolfpack. Here are the keys to the game.

Dealing with a Doeren-less Pack

Duke went 4-1 against Dave Doeren during his tenure at NC State; however, the longtime Wolfpack head coach will not be on the sidelines after his firing before last week’s game versus Cal.

Now, the Blue Devils are tasked with facing a “zombified” Wolfpack that has nothing to lose in a local rivalry game at home; not great.

This was explained further by former Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins during his appearance on the OVIES & GIGLIO Podcast on Tuesday. 

“I think there’s even a two- to three-game bump,” he said. “All the relief is off, and we’re just going out there and having fun and playing...there’s definitely a bump.”

Third down

Duke’s defensive success on third down will once again be huge since the unit ranks fifth in the FBS in defensive third down percentage, allowing opponents to convert at a 27.5% clip. This week, the Blue Devils will have to deal with a Wolfpack offense that converts at a rate of 51.7%, good for ninth in the nation.

NC State is easily the best third-down attack this Duke defense has faced all year, and if the visitors can hold up, it’ll be a great sign for when the unit has to take on third-down juggernauts like Miami (2nd) and Wake Forest (13th).

Exposing the Wolfpack secondary

NC State’s pass defense has been terrible this season, allowing 235.1 yards per game through the air. 

Last week, Duke quarterback Walker Eget passed for over 200 yards for the fourth straight game, suggesting he may be finding a rhythm as the season winds down. 

The Wolfpack secondary had one of its better performances of the season last week against a Cal attack ranked 25th nationally in passing offense, so it’ll be interesting to see what kind of look this Blue Devil passing attack gets in Raleigh.

Chance Robinson’s breakout

The Miami transfer was quiet for the first four weeks of action, racking up no more than 15 yards in any of his team’s games.

That all changed during the Pack’s loss to Wake Forest on Oct. 10 when he caught his first touchdown pass of the season along with 53 yards. He popped back off last week with four catches for a season-high 76 yards and another score.

Duke’s secondary ranks 33rd in passing yards allowed but could be heavily tested by a weapon that’s starting to find his way.

Can Nate Sheppard be stopped?

No.

But if NC State wants a prayer in this game, they’re going to have to slow him down as much as possible. 

Sheppard is the offense, and it was never more apparent than last week versus Boston College. His five rushing touchdowns were a season-high in a year where he has been a Heisman Trophy dark horse. 

The Wolfpack sport the 53rd-ranked rush defense, just one spot lower than an Illinois outfit that allowed Sheppard to rush for 147 yards and three total scores.