RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) Nate Sheppard went up the middle for a 69-yard touchdown on his first carry while Andrew Pellicciotta returned a missed field goal from the back of one end zone to the other for a half-ending touchdown as Duke Blue Devils beat N.C. State 41-3 on Saturday.

Going back to Duke's rout of Boston College last weekend, the Blue Devils have now won their last two games by a combined margin of 88-5.

“When you have a dominant win like we had a week ago ... normally there’s some sort of letdown and you start to believe things are easy, winning is easy,” Duke coach Manny Diaz said. “It’s never easy. I thought the team just improved from last week. I think that was the mindset all week: let’s find a way to get better. And that’s what they did."

Sheppard ran for 217 yards and three touchdowns, his latest huge output as the offensive centerpiece for the Blue Devils (7-2, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) and one of the nation's top rushers. By the end of the day, that rushing output had matched the Wolfpack's entire yardage total.

Then came Pellicciotta's “Kick Six” play in the safety's return from a lower-body injury that had sidelined him for two games. After N.C. State's Kanoah Vinesett came up short on a 50-yard field goal to end the first half, Pellicciotta caught it at the back of the end zone and brought it out, first to the left side, then cutting across the field to the right with multiple blockers ahead of him.

The sophomore then cut back slightly inside of a would-be tackler to complete that incredible run to the end zone for a 31-3 lead that had boos cascading down in the Wolfpack's Carter-Finley Stadium.

Pellicciotta was credited with a 100-yard return officially, though it was closer to 109 yards as a true length-of-the-field run.

Jaivon Solomon also took a short pass from Walker Eget and shruggled off a tackler for an 18-yard TD shortly before halftime for Duke.

The Wolfpack (4-5, 2-4) sputtered offensively and struggled to get stops in an ugly home loss. N.C. State's 217 total yards included 32 yards rushing on 25 attempts, as well as converting 3 of 14 third downs.

“I’ve got great young men that are still willing to fight, that are hurting in that locker room,” N.C. State interim coach Todd Goebbel said. “Coaches have done a great job of sticking with it. We’re all together, and we’re going to continue down that road.”

This marked Duke's sixth win in seven meetings between instate ACC neighbors.

Duke: The Blue Devils have regrouped from consecutive losses to Georgia Tech and rival North Carolina by a combined seven points. And it was another standout performance for Sheppard, coming in a week when the program launched a Heisman Trophy campaign for him. He entered Saturday ranked fifth in the Bowl Subdivision ranks (121.5) and third in rushing scores (14), then struck a Heisman pose on his quick scoring run to kickstart Duke's romp.

N.C. State: The offense was expected to be a strength while being led by third-year starting quarterback CJ Bailey. But this marked the Wolfpack's third game this year with 14 or fewer points and N.C.State didn't cross the 200-yard mark until the final minute with the outcome long since decided. It also marked N.C. State's first game without a touchdown since losing at Duke 24-3 in October 2023.

The Wolfpack fell to 1-1 under Goebbel, who became the interim coach after the Oct. 24 firing of longtime coach Dave Doeren. This one came amid the backrop of N.C. State having discussions with program great and retired NFL QB Philip Rivers - who has been coaching in the high school ranks in Alabama - to potentially take over.

Duke: The Blue Devils visit No. 1 Miami next Saturday, marking a reunion with Hurricanes quarterback Darian Mensah from Duke's ACC title winner last year.

N.C. State: Syracuse visits the Wolfpack next Saturday.

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