GAMEDAY College Football

North Carolina State 31, Duke 20

RALEIGH, N.C. - Cary Angeline and Thayer Thomas had second-half touchdown catches to help North Carolina State beat Duke 31-20 on Saturday despite losing starting quarterback Devin Leary to injury.

Angeline's 4-yard scoring catch put the Wolfpack up for good late in the third quarter. Then Thomas added a highlight-reel grab early in the fourth, somehow snagging a 9-yard pass with his right hand and pinning the ball to his helmet while being knocked out of the end zone.

N.C. State (4-1, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) got another strong performance from its defense, which surrendered one offensive touchdown while coming up with a goal-line stand for the third straight week. The Wolfpack picked off Chase Brice three times, the last coming after the Blue Devils had driven to the N.C. State 40-yard line with 6:06 left in a one-possession game.

Brice threw for 190 yards and a touchdown for the Blue Devils (1-5, 1-5), who ran for just 129 yards a week after relying on a dominant ground game to beat Syracuse.

Leary threw for 194 yards and hit Angeline for the go-ahead score. But on the next drive, he took a hard hit on a keeper from Duke's Lummie Young IV Ñ who was ejected for targeting Ñ and Leary's leg bent awkwardly beneath him.

Leary had to be carted off with an aircast around his lower left leg with 55 seconds left in the third. He offered a thumbs-up, then later returned to the sideline on crutches and wearing a protective boot.

Bailey Hockman finished that drive, with his scoring throw slipping through the hands of Duke's Jalen Alexander before reaching Thomas' right hand (and helmet) for the 28-20 lead. Christopher Dunn added a key field goal with 3:17 left to help N.C. State stay in control.

It was the first meeting in seven years between in-state neighbors separated by about 25 miles, and the game featured the teams each tallying a blocked punt for a touchdown.

This was N.C. State's first home game since Gov. Roy Cooper announced the state would ease public-gathering restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic. Schools are allowed to fill 7% of their stadium capacity, so more than 4,000 people were allowed to scatter throughout the 57,600-seat Carter-Finley Stadium.

Associated Press