Final
Lewis leads Duke past NC State 49-28
Oct 10, 2009 - 11:36 PM By AARON BEARD AP Sports WriterRALEIGH, N.C.(AP) -- Thad Lewis threw for career-highs of 459 yards and five touchdowns in a dazzling one-man show to help Duke beat North Carolina State 49-28 on Saturday.
Lewis also ran for a score for the Blue Devils (3-3, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who snapped an 11-game losing streak to their instate rival and earned their first road league win in almost six years. Donovan Varner added 154 yards receiving while Conner Vernon had 10 catches and was one of five different players to catch a TD pass from Lewis.
But on this day, everything started with Lewis, a senior quarterback who has until now almost always seen his big passing days go for naught.
He picked apart the Wolfpack's defense, helping Duke roll to 502 total yards and convert 13 of 19 third downs to dominate the game in front of a stunned home crowd for the Wolfpack (3-3, 0-2).
Lewis was sharp from the beginning, guiding the Blue Devils to touchdowns on their first three drives. And even though the Blue Devils had a few of those only-can-happen-to-Duke mistakes that helped the Wolfpack hang around, Lewis just wouldn't let the Blue Devils falter.
Duke earned its first ACC road win since beating North Carolina to close the 2003 regular season, ending a 20-game losing streak.
With the game tied at 28 midway through the third quarter, Lewis directed a 10-play drive that ended with his 8-yard scoring pass to Austin Kelly with 3:41 left. Then the Blue Devils caught a huge break when a Blue Devil punt bounced off blocker Justin Byers and Duke recovered at N.C. State's 11-yard line.
Three plays later, Lewis connected with Vernon for a 5-yard touchdown that pushed the lead to 42-28 with 11:02 left. And when the Blue Devils' defense - which hung in after a rough start against N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson - stuffed Toney Baker on a fourth-and-1 with 6:05 left, the Blue Devils could feel that this game would be different from all those other league losses.
On the other sideline, things only got worse for the Wolfpack, which played the final 5 minutes or so in front of a virtually empty Carter-Finley Stadium.
The low point - aside from a miserable defensive performance - came when the Wolfpack botched another punt return in the final minutes in the same fashion, this time with the ball bouncing off the leg of blocker Owen Spencer and rolling into the end zone, where Duke recovered for another touchdown with 3:07 left.
Wilson ran and threw for a touchdown for N.C. State, which never led.
Baker ran for 73 yards and a score and T.J. Graham added a 93-yard kickoff return for a score for the Wolfpack.
- NCAAF FINAL
1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
DUKE 14 7 14 14 49
NCSTATE 14 7 7 0 28 FINAL
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: DUKE - TD, BRETT HUFFMAN 2 YD PASS FROM
THADDEUS LEWIS (WILL
SNYDERWINE KICK), 5:18. DUKE
7-0
NC STATE - TD, RUSSELL WILSON 10 YD RUN
(JOSH CZAJKOWSKI KICK), 8:45.
NCSTATE 7-7
DUKE
Oct 10 7:20 PM - NCAAF
DUKE 49
NCSTATE 28 0:00 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Oct 10 7:20 PM
TD DUKE ADAM BANKS 0 YD FUMBLE RETURN (WILL SNYDERWINE KICK)
Duke 49, NC State 28 4th - 3:07Oct 10 7:10 PM
TD DUKE ADAM BANKS 0 YD FUMBLE RETURN (WILL SNYDERWINE KICK)
Duke 49, NC State 28 4th - 3:07Oct 10 7:10 PM
TD DUKE CONNER VERNON 6 YD PASS FROM THADDEUS LEWIS (WILL SNYDERWINE KICK)
Duke 42, NC State 28 4th - 11:02Oct 10 6:44 PM
TD DUKE CONNER VERNON 6 YD PASS FROM THADDEUS LEWIS (WILL SNYDERWINE KICK)
Duke 42, NC State 28 4th - 11:02Oct 10 6:44 PM
TD DUKE CONNER VERNON 6 YD PASS FROM THADDEUS LEWIS (WILL SNYDERWINE KICK)
Duke 42, NC State 28 4th - 11:02Oct 10 6:44 PM- NCAAF
DUKE 35
NCSTATE 28 0:00 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Oct 10 6:32 PM
TD DUKE AUSTIN KELLY 8 YD PASS FROM THADDEUS LEWIS (WILL SNYDERWINE KICK)
Duke 35, NC State 28 3rd - 3:41Oct 10 6:21 PM
TD DUKE AUSTIN KELLY 8 YD PASS FROM THADDEUS LEWIS (WILL SNYDERWINE KICK)
Duke 35, NC State 28 3rd - 3:41Oct 10 6:21 PM
TD DUKE AUSTIN KELLY 8 YD PASS FROM THADDEUS LEWIS (WILL SNYDERWINE KICK)
Duke 35, NC State 28 3rd - 3:41Oct 10 6:21 PM
TD NC STATE T.J. GRAHAM 93 YD KICKOFF RETURN (JOSH CZAJKOWSKI KICK)
Duke 28, NC State 28 3rd - 8:05Oct 10 6:11 PM
TD NC STATE T.J. GRAHAM 93 YD KICKOFF RETURN (JOSH CZAJKOWSKI KICK)
Duke 28, NC State 28 3rd - 8:05Oct 10 6:11 PM
TD DUKE DANNY PARKER 6 YD PASS FROM THADDEUS LEWIS (WILL SNYDERWINE KICK)
Duke 28, NC State 21 3rd - 8:17Oct 10 6:06 PM
TD DUKE DANNY PARKER 6 YD PASS FROM THADDEUS LEWIS (WILL SNYDERWINE KICK)
Duke 28, NC State 21 3rd - 8:17Oct 10 6:06 PM
TD DUKE DANNY PARKER 6 YD PASS FROM THADDEUS LEWIS (WILL SNYDERWINE KICK)
Duke 28, NC State 21 3rd - 8:17Oct 10 6:06 PM- NCAAF
DUKE 21
NCSTATE 21 0:00 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Oct 10 5:31 PM
TD NC STATE TONEY BAKER 9 YD RUN (JOSH CZAJKOWSKI KICK)
Duke 21, NC State 21 2nd - 8:22Oct 10 5:04 PM
TD NC STATE TONEY BAKER 9 YD RUN (JOSH CZAJKOWSKI KICK)
Duke 21, NC State 21 2nd - 8:22Oct 10 5:04 PM
TD DUKE RE'QUAN BOYETTE 8 YD PASS FROM THADDEUS LEWIS (WILL SNYDERWINE KICK)
Duke 21, NC State 14 2nd - 11:45Oct 10 4:54 PM
TD DUKE RE'QUAN BOYETTE 8 YD PASS FROM THADDEUS LEWIS (WILL SNYDERWINE KICK)
Duke 21, NC State 14 2nd - 11:45Oct 10 4:54 PM
TD DUKE RE'QUAN BOYETTE 8 YD PASS FROM THADDEUS LEWIS (WILL SNYDERWINE KICK)
Duke 21, NC State 14 2nd - 11:45Oct 10 4:54 PM- NCAAF
DUKE 14
NCSTATE 14 0:00 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Oct 10 4:45 PM
TD NC STATE OWEN SPENCER 63 YD PASS FROM RUSSELL WILSON (JOSH CZAJKOWSKI KICK)
Duke 14, NC State 14 1st - 0:14Oct 10 4:43 PM
TD NC STATE OWEN SPENCER 63 YD PASS FROM RUSSELL WILSON (JOSH CZAJKOWSKI KICK)
Duke 14, NC State 14 1st - 0:14Oct 10 4:43 PM
TD NC STATE OWEN SPENCER 63 YD PASS FROM RUSSELL WILSON (JOSH CZAJKOWSKI KICK)
Duke 14, NC State 14 1st - 0:14Oct 10 4:43 PM
TD NC STATE RUSSELL WILSON 10 YD RUN (JOSH CZAJKOWSKI KICK)
Duke 7, NC State 7 1st - 6:15Oct 10 4:26 PM
TD NC STATE RUSSELL WILSON 10 YD RUN (JOSH CZAJKOWSKI KICK)
Duke 7, NC State 7 1st - 6:15Oct 10 4:26 PM
TD DUKE BRETT HUFFMAN 3 YD PASS FROM THADDEUS LEWIS (WILL SNYDERWINE KICK)
Duke 7, NC State 0 1st - 9:42Oct 10 4:16 PM
TD DUKE BRETT HUFFMAN 3 YD PASS FROM THADDEUS LEWIS (WILL SNYDERWINE KICK)
Duke 7, NC State 0 1st - 9:42Oct 10 4:16 PM
TD DUKE BRETT HUFFMAN 3 YD PASS FROM THADDEUS LEWIS (WILL SNYDERWINE KICK)
Duke 7, NC State 0 1st - 9:42Oct 10 4:16 PM
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