Football falls just short to Wolfpack

RALEIGH - Sometimes after losing a close game, a team can look for the few critical plays that could have changed the outcome and play "What if," trying to decide if those plays, with different outcomes, would have resulted in a victory.

Losing a 27-24 battle with N.C. State on Saturday provided the Blue Devils with more than enough opportunities.

As in, what if early in the second quarter, the loose ball that defensive end Nate Krill ran back for a touchdown had been ruled a fumbled lateral and not an incomplete forward pass?

What if, on the first series of the third quarter, Wolfpack wideout Torry Holt hadn't scooped up a fumble by teammate Chris Coleman and run it 53 yards into the endzone to give N.C. State a 24-7 lead?

What if the stellar play by Chris Combs and the Duke defensive line had repeatedly allowed the Blue Devils to get to Wolfpack quarterback Jamie Barnette a split second before he released his passes instead of afterwards, providing the Blue Devils with much-needed sacks that could have helped win the game?

Finally, what if, on fourth-and-five from midfield with 2:12 left in the game, Duke quarterback Bobby Campbell had been able to find Scottie Montgomery in the flat for a first down to keep the final drive alive?

For Duke (3-4, 1-4 in the ACC), those unanswered questions will linger after a disappointing failed comeback against the Wolfpack (4-2, 2-1). At some point a team becomes tired of winning moral victories. For the Blue Devils, that point was reached on Saturday.

"I felt like we were two plays away, you know, a play or two," Duke wide receiver Richmond Flowers said. "That ballgame could have gone either way. There's not a happy or satisfied person on this team, despite what people may think. I'm sure we're all going to hear, 'Oh, well Duke's coming back,' but we all felt like we could have won this game."

"It's the first time, in five years I've been here, that we've gotten that far behind and we've battled back from that kind of adversity and had several chances to win at the end," coach Fred Goldsmith said. "We just didn't get it done. That fourth-down play, we thought we were going to make it, and we just didn't do it. That was it."

Duke's comeback seemed unlikely after Holt's touchdown, which threatened to break the Blue Devils' back. The Wolfpack began the second half with the ball, but Duke forced two incompletions, and N.C. State was facing third-and-10 from its 20. Barnette dropped back and found Coleman on the right side. The junior receiver took the ball and raced up the sideline, but Duke safety Kenan Holley caught Coleman from behind and stripped the ball as he made the tackle.

Opportunity became disaster for the Blue Devils, however. They could only watch as Holt appeared at the scene, grabbed the ball and ran away from two defenders down the sideline and into the endzone.

"When you have to deal with adversity, you can't get down and cry over spilt milk," said Flowers, who finished the game with five catches for 67 yards. "Things happen. What we had to do was deal with it. That was a fluke play, and those things happen. What we had to do was get our offense together. You can't control fluke plays."

The Blue Devils were able to stay in the game largely because they thoroughly dominated N.C. State at the line of scrimmage. The Wolfpack had only 18 rushing yards for the game, and Barnette was knocked down on many pass attempts. N.C. State had only one rushing play go for more than six yards. In addition, the Duke defensive line was able to nullify the option pass that N.C. State has had success running against other teams.

"They have a great offensive scheme and a lot of talent, and this was one of the biggest challenges we've had," Combs said. "We did a good job of stopping the run, and if we'd gotten to Barnette a little more, I think we could have pulled it out."

On the other side of the ball, the rushing attack enjoyed success. Freshman B.J. Hill did most of the work in the first half and piled up 42 yards on nine carries for the game. Wilks took over in the second half and added another 74 yards. Each back had a one-yard touchdown run.

With Romine struggling behind center, Goldsmith substituted Campbell at the start of the second quarter, and the move paid off. The sophomore finished 17-of-28 for 188 yards, one touchdown and, perhaps most importantly, no interceptions. For his effort, Goldsmith indicated that Campbell will probably be the starting quarterback next week against Clemson.

The offensive play-calling also underwent a dramatic change over the course of the game, as the Blue Devils became much more conservative. Gone were the side laterals to Scottie Montgomery and the five-wideout set. Instead, the Blue Devils went to a short passing game and a rushing attack, and the move almost allowed for the come-from-behind win. Overall, Campbell was pleased with his team's performance.

"Coming out in the second half, they had that one big play off the fumble, and our defense just didn't quit," Campbell said. "They showed a lot, and the offense too; coming back and scoring 17 points in the second half after being down 24-7 shows a lot for this football team.

"It's the first time since I've been around where we do that, where we don't lay down. We come back, and we don't quit throughout the game. We think we've got a chance to win throughout the game."

Note: Sims Lenhardt's 48-yard field goal in the third quarter tied Doug Peterson for the all-time Duke record for career field goals with 37.