Many of you familiar with Duke football in the last 20 years probably won't believe it, but on this day in November 1994, Duke entered the game at 8-1, ranked 18th in the country. Meanwhile, NC State was 6-2 and still in the ACC Championship race. There have been some great games in the series, but this one combined a great game with major implications.
The crowd was revved up from the start, but Duke took the opening possession down inside the 10, and settled for a field goal to lead 3-0. NC State countered with a long drive of their own, driving for a 13 yard touchdown by Rod Brown and a 7-3 lead.
After another Wolfpack stop, the first major turning point of the game was created by the Duke defense. Terry Harvey was hit while trying to make an option pitch. The fumble was picked up by Duke and they rumbled 21 yard to put the Devils up 10-7. From there, Duke seized control. A partial blocked punt on the next possession gave Duke a short field. Duke quickly put themselves in scoring position, and hit a wide open Corey Thomas in the end zone to put Duke up 17-7. Duke kept the pressure on, forcing another Harvey fumble and converting that into another field goal. State had a drive late in the first half, but that too was ended by a turnover, this time a Terry Harvey interception, and the teams went to the locker room with Duke holding on to a 20-7 lead.
The second half didn't look any better as Duke got two more defensive stops sandwiching another field goal and Duke led 23-7. The Devils had 9-1 in their sights, and the Pack had their backs against the wall. And it was there on their own 8 yard line that the game began to change in the last three minutes of the third quarter. On third down, Terry Harvey heaved a long one to Adrian Hill who caught it in stride and raced 82 yards to the Duke 10. Three plays later a touchdown pass to Hill cut the Duke lead to 23-14.
Now in the 4th quarter, after a Wolfpack stop, Harvey was going long again. This time a 53 yarder to Greg Addis and the Pack was in range again. Duke held State out of the end zone, but a Steve Videtich field goal cut the lead to 23-17 with 10:29 to go.
Duke's offense was held again. This time on a big 3rd down and 9 play that only went for 7 yard. Duke was forced to punt, and the Pack was set up with 8 minutes to go.
State advance it to the Duke 48, and set up with 3 wide receiver. Duke showed blitz and sent eight guys after Harvey, but the Pack fooled them with the hand off to Rod Brown. Brown burst through the line and had no one in front of him. He sprinted 43 yards before being caught by a Duke safety at the 5.
Three plays later, State had third and goal at the Duke 2, and on a designed roll out Harvery hit Mike Guffie in the corner of the end zone for the go ahead score. NC State leads 24-23.
Duke had one last chance, and drove the ball down to the NC State 28. A big holding penalty pushed the Devils back and on 4th and 15, they attempted a 51 yard field goal. The ball went wide right, and Duke had no timeouts left. NC State ran out the last two minutes and the Pack had the win. As the clock clicked to zero, the students stormed the field and took down the goal posts. The Pack would go on to finish the year 9-3 with a final ranking of #17 after a Peach Bowl victory!
And as great as this recap was, the only way to really do this game justice is to check out the highlights still up on WRAL
and the highlight package from a coach show clip called "Carter Finley Classics"
Honorable mention:
1991 over Duke 32-31
Up next tomorrow: Georgia Tech
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