(Photo credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images)

When Duke coach Manny Diaz takes assessment of North Carolina State, he sees an opponent that has figured out situations every week.

So when the teams meet in Saturday's Atlantic Coast Conference game in Durham, N.C., the Blue Devils know they have to be more efficient.

'They've been challenged each week, so they've been battle-tested,' Diaz said of the Wolfpack.

NC State (3-0, 1-0 ACC) looks for its second ACC road victory after winning an in-state encounter with Wake Forest last week.

This is yet another challenge for the Wolfpack.

'We haven't played well against Duke on the road,' NC State coach Dave Doeren said. 'Our guys know that. It's an opportunity to go play against a good football team in their stadium and play our best. We just have to keep focusing on getting better.'

Duke (1-2, 0-0) will try to snap a two-game skid after losses to Illinois and at Tulane.

'We have a chance to learn from it,' Diaz said. 'There are players who actually played well Saturday night and are improving. ... I like the older guys setting the tone, stepping up. I think everybody has a different sense of urgency.'

Duke relied heavily on defense in Diaz's first season a year ago. And combined with a 2023 victory against NC State, the Blue Devils have let defense set the tone in recent matchups with the Wolfpack.

But that's among the reasons there are concerns for Duke, with lapses in the defensive backfield cropping up in 2025. NC State is bound to test the Blue Devils with some downfield throws.

'The biggest thing for us right now is where we are defensively,' Diaz said. 'The trend is the run defense has been pretty good. The pass defense is far from where it was. We're going to have to grow up in a hurry in the secondary.'

Duke's defense hasn't collected an interception.

NC State quarterback CJ Bailey has thrown for five touchdowns with one interception, and he has been sacked just twice. Running back Hollywood Smothers is averaging 126.7 rushing yards per game.

Duke has thrown for eight touchdowns (all by quarterback Darian Mensah), but the Blue Devils have rushed for only two TDs.

'We want to run the ball better in the red zone,' Diaz said.

A targeting call on NC State defensive end Sabastian Harsh last week means he'll miss the first half vs. Duke.

'We're not going to talk about who we're playing (in Harsh's place), but there will definitely be opportunities for guys to get more reps in that first half with him out,' Doeren said.

The home stadiums for these teams are 22 miles apart. It's the first time in 26 years that NC State's first two ACC games have come away from home.

Diaz was a former NC State assistant coach under Chuck Amato.

--Field Level Media