Duke quarterbacks completed 20 of 21 passes — with the lone incompletion on a play to stop the clock — and the Blue Devils blew past Lafayette 42-7 on Saturday evening at Wallace Wade Stadium.
Riley Leonard, one of the heroes of Monday’s win over Clemson, went 12-for-12 passing for 136 yards and a touchdown. Backup Henry Belin IV was 8-of-8 for another 118 yards and a TD. All told, Duke (2-0) outgained Lafayette 515-213.
The Blue Devils broke a school record for completion percentage (.952). Duke also proved potent on the ground, with Jordan Waters picking up 112 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
Joshua Pickett and Myles Jones picked off Lafayette passes. Duke’s defense did not gave up any points in the second half and has only surrendered 14 total points in two games. The Devils did not punt Saturday.
Duke, the No. 1 team in our NC Football News “Best In State” Fabulous 14 poll, will play at home for a third time next Saturday. Northwestern visits for a 3:30 p.m. tilt. ACC Network will broadcast the game.
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North Carolina 40, Appalachian State 34 (2 OT)
Drake Maye scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 13-yard quarterback keeper in the second extra period, then UNC’s defense held Appalachian State on downs to preserve the victory.
Omarion Hampton punished the Mountainers (1-1) with a career-high 234 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Hampton notched the first UNC touchdown in OT with a 17-yard rumble. That play tied the game 34-34. Hampton also had TD runs of 68 and 7 yards.
The Tar Heels (2-0) finished with 319 rushing yards in all. Nate Noel led Appalachian State’s offense, carrying the ball 26 times for 127 yards and two touchdowns.
Appalachian State (1-1) tied the game 27-27 with 90 seconds to play on a Michael Hughes 33-yard field goal. The Tar Heels had the chance to win on the final play of regulation but a 39-yard field missed. ASU scored first in OT thanks to a Noel 7-yard TD. Hampton’s answer kept the game alive for the Heels, who beat App State 63-61 a year ago in Boone.
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Wake Forest 36, Vanderbilt 20
Coach Dave Clawson improved to 4-0 all-time against SEC opponents and the Demon Deacons improved to 2-0 on the season.
Wake’s defense forced three turnovers. Brendon Harris recovered a fumble on special teams and returned it 31 yards for a touchdown. Malik Mustapha and Dashawn Jones had interceptions.
The Deacs moved the ball well on the ground all afternoon. Demond Claiborne rushed 165 yards, while Tate Carney added another 117 yards. Quarterback Mitch Griffis threw TD passes to Jahmal Banks and Ke’Shawn Williams.
“Offensively, that’s as well as we’ve run the football here in a long, long time,” Clawson said to media after the game. “We knew we had to. They were talking in the media about the explosiveness of our offense. We kind of anticipated they would play some softer coverages and we really felt that this was a game we were going to have to run the football and run it consistently, and we did.”
Wake Forest, which sold out Allegacy Stadium for the second time this season, improved to 22-4 home since the start of the 2019 season. The game started at 11 a.m. but storms forced a delay and it took more than five hours to complete the contest.
“So much for the rules to shorten the football game,” Clawson quipped. “Five and a half hours later, here we are. First, I want to thank all the fans that hung in there for five and a half hours. We had a sell out, obviously with the weather, there weren’t as many people here, but I just wanted to thank the ones that were. For the people that wanted to show up for five and a half hours and support the Deacs, it’s very meaningful for people to stay around and we really appreciate it.”
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Notre Dame 45, NC State 24
Sam Hartman got the last laugh against the Wolfpack. The Fighting Irish quarterback had been 0-2 as a starter against NC State in Raleigh during his time at Wake Forest. But Hartman threw for 286 yards and four touchdowns Saturday to help Notre Dame earn its 29th straight regular season win against an ACC opponent.
The game was a mixed bag for NC State quarterback Brennan Armstrong. He rushed for a score and threw touchdown passes to Bradley Rozner and Decari Collins. But he also had three interceptions.
Notre Dame led 3-0 early when strong storms moved into the area. After a delay of nearly two hours, the Irish ripped off an 80-yard run for a touchdown on the first play after the restart. The Wolfpack could get no closer than 10-7. The Irish pulled away with three touchdowns in the final quarter.
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Marshall 31, East Carolina 13
A 30-yard Andrew Conrad field goal with 6:04 left in the third quarter gave the Pirates a 13-10 lead. But it was all Marshall from there. Charles Montgomery threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Caleb McMillan. Rasheen Ali then added a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns on runs of 56 and 14 yards.
Conrad had two field goals for the Pirates (0-2). Shane Calhoun scored East Carolina’s lone touchdown on a 2-yard pass from Mason Garcia.
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Charlotte at Maryland
Late. Check back soon.
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