NC State vs. No. 17 Duke preview for tomorrow night from both team's perspective

Huge game first time in 10 years that NC State has gone to Duke and when I say huge game it's kind of I think it is. It's an enormous game for Duke a week after the buy, a week after they've gave away an opportunity to still be part of the playoff conversation. Just not lying, Duke is legit. NC State has one of the best defenses in the country and Michael Clark from Pack Pride is joining us at MichaelClark247 on Twitter.

I appreciate your time, sir. First game since 2013 at Wallace. We had a game I attended, not that that matters today, but it is kind of refreshing that they're going to be on the field together for a while.

Yeah, first, thanks for having me on guys. It is, it's a shame. You know, you look at the ACC and how things are set up previously that they don't play more often. You'd really like to see teams like Duke and State play every year.

Unfortunately, it just doesn't work that way. But it's a big game, a lot riding. I think on the game I think both teams feel really good about where they are as football programs.

Now, we just got to go out and play. Do you think State feels really good about what they are? I mean, did they get as much out of the game against Marshall as they wanted?

Yeah, I think so. I think when you look at Marshall, I know a lot of people listening watch that football game, Marshall is a good football team. I think if you look out at the end of the year, don't be surprised that this is a team contending for the Sunbelt. They're a program that's always had players. Charles Hough is probably one of the best up-and-coming coaches in the country. And it was a challenge.

I mean, that's a game that, you know, most teams, I mean, you look at who they had already beaten, could go lose regardless of where it's played. MJ Morris to me, I know y'all probably watched, the ceiling on the kid I think is through the roof. He made some mistakes.

You expect those. I think after not playing for nearly 11 months. I think what I liked most about the performance from him was just he didn't change the way he played after the early interceptions. He stayed aggressive. And if you're going to be successful in college football, you've got to throw the ball downfield. And through five games, that was a major issue for NC State. Some guys have got to step up, and I think you're seeing guys emerge.

I mean, everybody knows about Kevin Conception. One of the best receivers, freshman receivers in the country. A guy like Terrell Timmons is starting to emerge. So I think they feel really good if you pair that with the defense, and they just, you know, try to limit the turnovers. The ACC, I don't know how y'all feel, feels wide open, more wide open than people think. So you just have to put your best foot forward every week, and I think that's probably what both teams are going to obviously do tomorrow. Michael Clark is joining us from Packbright.

Here's the thing. I've actually been waiting for Terrell Timmons to kind of really make the step. He has shown flashes, showed flashes last year. But ultimately, he didn't get a lot of, well, he didn't have a lot of production last year. I don't know about the opportunity, but he didn't have a lot of production last year.

And this is, like, every time I think he's about to kick on, like, it goes the other way. So I'd love to see him become the other guy to KC Conception. So, look, I think both guys are good. It was good to see Trent Pennix become part of it all against Marshall.

I agree. I'm not sure Marshall's, I know Marshall theoretically has a good defense. I'm not sure how good it really is, but we'll see, you know, whether it's them going forward or what NC State does with Duke. But these are two of the best defenses in the country. I don't see a lot of points here, do you?

No, I don't. I think it's really, you're obviously going to see both teams lean on their defenses. And it's probably going to come down to who makes the most plays late in the game and the least amount of mistakes.

That's typically, I think on paper, they're probably pretty evenly matched. I mean, what Mike Elko has done at Duke has just done a tremendous job and deserves a ton of credit. They've got a lot of good players. And if you look at their roster, there's a lot of veteran guys who've been there a while.

And then they brought in some experienced transfers who've made an impact. It definitely is going to be a challenge, I think, for NC State offensively. But at the same time, I think NC State is going to be a challenge for Duke's offense. So, yeah, I think it could be a low scoring game. And then at the end of the day, does it come down to probably who makes the most plays down the stretch and who makes the least amount of mistakes?

I know that sounds like kind of a generic comment, but when you went and it's a hard hitting analysis, I know that's what you are looking for. But I think it's pretty, pretty much as simple as that when you have two teams who I feel are maybe pretty evenly matched at this point, especially if Duke doesn't have a starting quarterback that throws a wrench and things. But, you know, the Beelen kid behind is extremely talented. So I think that it's going to be a challenge for both teams. And I just hope it's a good game. I think it's good for the area when these teams play. Well, I think it will be a good game.

I think you and I agree it will be low scoring. I think it comes down to who establishes a running game first or maybe not first, but best. Duke's got a good running game.

A lot of that, though, is Riley Leonard. State like I don't know what to make of the game against Marshall. They ran the ball effectively for the first time all year without needing the quarterback to be a huge chunk of it. Did they run it better just because it was MJ?

What do you make of that? Well, you know, you oftentimes hear people run to set up the pass. I think NC State's kind of the exact opposite.

Y'all follow it closely. The past two seasons, they've been among the worst teams, the ACC running the football. When that happens, it makes it incredibly hard to throw the football. So now you have the element of MJ Morris being more of a downfield passing threat. I think last week hitting some of those shots downfield, the Pennax, Timmons, you have Casey making a big play that opens up running lanes because, you know, one of NC State's biggest, I think, issues early on. It's been injuries on the offensive line and trying to gel at that position.

And then you'll know how how tough that is when you can't have the same five every week. And it's it's been a been an issue. And I think last week you get Dylan McMahon back. And that's probably an understated how important he is, what they do.

I mean, he's a guy nearing 40 career starts. You just can't replace a guy like that, especially when the communication aspect comes in. I mean, there were multiple times in previous games before last week where you just have complete miscommunication and guys coming free on blitz. And it doesn't matter who's playing quarterback when linebackers and defensive linemen aren't getting touched.

It's not going to end up well. What scares you about Duke, Michael Clark? They're just a really good football team.

Again, a lot of veteran players, I think, even if Leonard can't go and just their ability defensively. It's kind of a really unbelievable how well they've been against the past. I think they're only giving up like one hundred and fifty nine yards, if I'm not mistaken, through the air. That is going to be a challenge for NC State's receivers, because, again, if you go back and look at Duke, a lot of good players on that defense.

But on the back end, you're very experienced. NC State's going to have to find a way in the passing game to win those one on one matchups. I think it's going to be incredibly important. And then, you know, in a game like this, I believe that getting off to a good start. Offensively, having some productive drives, I think that's going to be really big for NC State and a young quarterback like MJ Morris. And then if you look at NC State, a lot of their skill position players, Adam, they're young. I mean, even Timmons, he's a 19 year old kid, the true sophomore. You got Casey, the true freshman, Michael Allen, the true sophomore. I mean, there's a lot of young guys, but this is kind of at the point, I think, in the season where you want to see them take that next step.

And, you know, throw the age out the window and just produce and make plays because a lot is riding on these young playmakers. All right. Final thing for you. Give me a prediction. People are going to call me a homer. That's fine.

I've been called a lot worse. Anyways, I think NC State wins. I'm going to go 24-21.

NC State wins a close one. I think MJ Morris is the difference down the stretch. I think he's going to make plays. It's just, if you listen to him talk and you watch him play, it's hard not to be impressed with the kid. He's really got the total package. He's going to have some ups and downs.

He's still learning, but I think he's the difference. NC State wins a close one and it gives them some momentum going forward. 24-21, Pac Pride's Michael Clark on Twitter or whatever we're calling it these days, at MichaelClark247. Hey, thank you very much, man. I appreciate your time. Thanks for having me on, guys. Have a great weekend. You got it. That's Michael Clark.

We're going to talk to Duke's Dave Harding here in just a matter of moments. Don't take treatment for adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis who may benefit from systemic therapy or phototherapy. Don't take if you're allergic to Sotictu. Serious reactions can occur. Before treatment, get checked for infections, including tuberculosis. Sotictu can lower your ability to fight infections. Don't start if you have one. Serious infections, cancers including lymphoma, muscle problems and changes in certain labs have occurred.

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Call 1-888-SOTYKTU to learn more. That's more points than I anticipate from this game. I think in order to get to that point total, I think we're going to need some turnovers and some defensive help. So whether it's defensive touchdowns or special teams touchdowns, we don't need that. But I think you're going to need big plays in terms of switching the field from defenses and special teams in order to get to 45 total points.

I think the total is 44. This game reeks of like 17, 13. I think my predicted score is 20 to 13.

So I think 20 to 13 is my predicted final score. I don't know if that's enough in favor of the Blue Devils, but let's talk to Mr. Blue Devil himself, Dave Harding from the Blue Devils Radio Network, who joins us on the Adam Gold show. All right, my friend, I appreciate your time as always, handsome as ever. Thank you. I always try to do my hair up real nice for radio. So do I. You know, you and I have that in common.

It is fantastic. So when I look at this game, first of all, let's find out what you think about. I don't know. Can can you guess who's going to be the quarterback? Is it going to be Riley Leonard for two? We know who the quarterback is going to be for state.

Don't play games with me. Is it going to be Riley? Is it going to be Henry?

And what is the difference if it is Henry? To be honest, I really don't know what I can go off of is what Mike Elko shared in the press conference on Tuesday. I'm sure plenty of people have heard that Riley Leonard is day to day. We all saw the injury. We all saw what he looked like, crutching off the field after Notre Dame. I have no idea. I have experienced leg injuries similar to that.

You know, as we found out, it was not a break, but it's not something that I was able to bounce back quickly from. And I'm just curious with with the athlete that Riley is, if he is playing on Saturday, how does he move athletically? That's obviously the big part of his game and an edge that he brings is his ability to kind of play basketball, if you will, and head fake folks and get up the field. So a lot of question marks, certainly and rightfully so for for what the Duke offense looks like, who's at the helm of the Duke offense. I think the big thing that I'm looking at is whether the quarterback situation set aside, you know, it might be raining a little bit. And you look at how even with Riley, especially in the first half against Notre Dame, if the Blue Devils weren't really effective on offense when they were trying to pass, they're going to have to lean on their ground game regardless of of who's the signal caller. And they've got the offensive line that should be back to to full speed, back to being a healthy group up front and two really good running backs that can do it. Now, they've been able to do it the past, you know, against Notre Dame when people didn't give them much of a shot to run.

And certainly against Clemson, NC State, in my opinion, especially in a front seven perspective, is just as good as those guys. You throw Peyton Wilson at a ball carrier. It's hard to run. So the big question is, what's the ground game, the traditional running game look like for the Blue Devils, whether it's Riley Leonard, whether it's Henry Bealen.

That's the big part of the game that I'm going to be looking at to answer your question real quick. And I know I'm rambling, but on what is what is Henry like? We've seen him go eight for eight, throwing the ball earlier in the year. I think he's more of your traditional pocket passer. He is athletic. He's able to get outside the pocket if needed. He he's got that extend ability, if you will.

But he's got arguably a stronger arm than Riley Leonard does and being able to rocket it down the field. So I think that's what you can expect if it is Henry Bealen's game. A very talented quarterback that's proven he can throw 100 percent completion.

Perfect. We anticipate no incomplete passes out of Henry Bealen. We've already seen a couple of Hail Marys this year where it's not Riley Leonard.

It's Henry Bealen coming in to the game to throw it. I want to go back to the Notre Dame game because I think you point out you make a very good point. Duke tried to come out throwing against Notre Dame and it didn't work. Their offense was really ineffective in the first half. In the second half, and I think part of that was to keep Notre Dame off balance and have them not key on Riley Leonard. In the second half, they ran it and they said, they said, you know what, this is who we are.

We have to run the ball. And I thought they won the line of scrimmage in the second half and they won it for the entirety of the second half. They were the better team than Notre Dame, which makes me it was so disappointing to see how it ended. But they ran it traditionally at Notre Dame and they did it effectively.

Jordan Waters, Jacquez Moore. I thought those guys were really good in the second half. Can they do that to state it hasn't been easy to run on them either?

I think they can. I mean, I guess kind of alluded to in my last answer, they they had those similar questions against Notre Dame. And once I mean, there were five handoffs to the running backs in the first half against Notre Dame, second half a different story. First half only rushed for 38 yards, second half over 150.

Yeah. And so I think they're more than capable. This is a running back group and offensive line included in that that was the more physical group against Clemson. A very talented Clemson front. And I saw for the first time since I've been covering Duke football, Jacquez, Moore, Jordan Waters, the running backs for the Blue Devils outrun linebackers to the outside and able to extend plays past.

Get around the defense to pick up first down. So I think that if we look at what we learned about Duke the last time out against Notre Dame, I think it's two things. And on offense, it's the ground game is legit. They were able to do that without their all everything left tackle. And then secondly, and this is on the defensive side of the ball, the defense is the real deal as well. This is a group that has bad intentions for opposing ball carriers. And I think with outside of really one play, a fourth and 16, it was a dominant performance where they were able to dictate everything they wanted against Notre Dame.

He just I just kind of had a flashback that I don't like. I mean, I mean, I know it says it sounds like I'm patronizing and I know people don't want it. They can't wrap their minds around this. Duke wins that game.

And we are legitimately taught. I mean, it's a top 10 matchup when they go to Tallahassee next week, assuming. I mean, this is not a this game is obviously not a foregone conclusion, but it's a top 10 matchup when they go to Tallahassee if Duke is what at that point would be six and oh, and they are legitimately talked about as my gosh, all right, maybe, maybe they don't win in Florida State, but maybe they win out the rest of the season. And we're talking about a team that's playing in the New Year six bowl.

I mean, it's there. They are that good. I've said this from Game one when I watched him against Clemson. They looked the part defensively. They looked the part on the defensive line and in the secondary.

And to me, that was a thing other than the touchdown run by estimate. They shut down Notre Dame's run game, shut it down. They did nothing in the second half against Duke's defense. Yeah, I mean, the tight end and I get you got to realize that Notre Dame was without several of their wide receiver targets for that game.

The tight end was fantastic as he was against Ohio State the week before. But yeah, this is a Duke defensive unit top to bottom that I think is as consistently shown up to work. And even against UConn, the Blue Devil offense was a little sluggish.

They weren't great. And the defense, not to say kept them in the game, but was a big reason for it being the blowout and the convincing victory that it was. And another big advantage for this team so far, coming off of a bye, this is a group that's well rested. And honestly, I think that's ultimately kind of what plagued Notre Dame last week against Louisville, is they kind of got worn down with some big time opponents back to back to back for the Blue Devils. You know, that Notre Dame game is the first time they really had to go wire to wire. And the big reason for that is the play of the defense.

They have been suffocating. They've taken away opponents opportunities and not to kind of throw salt in the wound of exactly what you're saying, that flashback that you had about what could have been had one play been different. I mean, you take away a fake punt that Notre Dame had. That's that's another score, you know? So you're looking at what a seven seven point game. And they get that they missed a field goal. But the end of it is this is a defense that on Saturday with the quarterback questions that we led the show off with, you expect and if you're in the locker room, you're looking at that group to go out and win you the game. And the last time NC State came to Durham, I happened to be playing, which is why.

I mean, how crazy is that? But 10 years ago, NC State came here. And man, like that defensive line didn't get a ton of respect. They were the best group outside of Florida State that we saw in the ACC championship.

So tough, so physical. And this group of defense defenders, especially on the D line, is no different for NC State. It was hard to move the ball. Yeah, we had Jamison Crowder. We had Anthony Boone. We still struggled. And we had to rely on a guy named Devon Edwards to come in and score three touchdowns, one on a kick return and the other two on pick sixes to to get the victory.

And so I'm not saying it's going to be exactly like that. But with the weather, with everything else that's going on with just with not knowing what you're going to see from a quarterback perspective, the defense, hey, you got to step up and have your best game yet. I think it'll be a great atmosphere at Wallace Wade Stadium as well with the Wolfpack in town for the first time in 10 years. Some people remember it as the Devon Edwards game. I remember it as the Dave Harding game. He joins us here on the Adam Gold Show. Real quick, is Graham Barton going to be back? He did not play against Notre Dame, as you alluded to.

A redshirt freshman played and played very well. But is Barton going to be back? Yeah, that's the indication coming off of our conversations with Mike Elko earlier in the week. In fact, he shared that had the Notre Dame game played, been played a day or two after.

So, you know, on a Monday that he would have likely been able to go. So that's that's the expectation. Certainly be great to have him back. And you mentioned the player that stepped in for him, the redshirt freshman, Brian Parker, I thought was fantastic. So, you know, in in all of that and I get you get the loss on the record, but you learn so much about your team.

And then you find out that you've got some other pieces in the two deep that can be plugged in to make a big impact on the line. Special teams have to be better special teams, whether it was the recognition of the fake punt, because I thought at that point should have left your defense on the field, because it was at the point of the place on the field where a fake punt is possible. And if Duke had left their defense on the field, maybe Notre Dame doesn't try that and they just punt the ball away. But the two missed the two missed field goals didn't help Duke.

Either those things need to get cleaned up this week. Do you want to make a prediction or because, you know, you can be on the radio, you want to stay away from it? I mean, I think my prediction is it's going to be a great game. That's the outcome is is one thing.

Obviously, I'm going to hedge one direction, given my roots, and I don't want to bite the hand that feeds me, so to speak. But, you know, overall, this is and we've talked that a game that hasn't happened often enough. Right. And Duke plays Wake Forest every year or has been. You think that the annual rivalry would mean a little bit more. But I think picking up right away, this game carries more weight from a rivalry perspective just because of the proximity. And it certainly felt different when we faced him back in 2013. The 2020 games kind of a fluke in between there, just with it being the season that pandemic is weird.

I'd like to forget it. But, you know, it's this is an opportunity to be a really great atmosphere, to your point. And I don't know, an ACC football, you and college football in general, you don't always get a great game. I think this one will it's going to be entertaining storylines abound. And I would definitely tune in on the radio, preferably.

Right, folks? Absolutely. But Duke Radio Network, Dave, Dave Harding will be the star. I've got it as a Duke 20 to 13 win. I appreciate that.

I think we're going to see low scoring. I mean, defenses are going to win the day and the comedy stylings of Dave Harding on the radio, sir. I knew I accepted this interview for a reason. So, man, you're my favorite. You'll never disappoint. I'll talk to you later, man. Take care.