Castle Rushes for Three Scores; Blue Devils Surge Past Wolfpack, 45-33

Saturday, September 20

Durham, N.C.

4 p.m.

Duke University

2-2 , 1-0

NC State

3-1 , 1-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

NC State

Duke

Castle Rushes for Three Scores; Blue Devils Surge Past Wolfpack, 45-33

9/20/2025 7:50:00 PM | Football

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes (PDF)Coach Diaz: Postgame Press Conference Anderson Castle: Postgame Press Conference Tre Freeman: Postgame Press Conference Sahmir Hagans: Postgame Press Conference Wesley Williams: Postgame Press Conference Photo Gallery

DURHAM, N.C. – A blocked field goal, another three-touchdown performance from quarterback Darian Mensah and three rushing touchdowns from Anderson Castle helped propel Duke past NC State 45-33 on Saturday inside Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium.

Duke (2-2, 1-0 ACC) trailed 20-7 before ripping off three touchdowns in 3:50 of game time spanning the end of the second quarter and start of the third. The comeback is the 12th largest in program history and the second time in as many ACC games Duke mounted a 13-point rally to secure a win.

Castle, a graduate, led the Blue Devils with 92 rushing yards, while freshman running back Nate Sheppard added 61 ground yards while Cooper Barkate and Sahmir Hagans each finished with more than 60 receiving yards and a scoring grab. Mensah threw for 269 total yards and three touchdowns on 19-of-28 (.679) passing.

HOW IT HAPPENED

NC State (3-1, 1-1 ACC) took a 7-0 lead on its opening drive with a 75-yard screen and run from CJ Bailey to Terrell Anderson.
The Blue Devils answered on its first drive with a 70-yard march down the field, capped by a two-yard touchdown plunge from Anderson Castle. The graduate transfer from Appalachian State tallied his first TD with Duke.
The two teams went scoreless for the remainder of the quarter before NC State broke the tie with a six-yard scoring catch by Anderson with 14:18 to remaining in the opening half.
The Wolfpack extended its lead to 20-7 with 5:45 to go in the first half with a Will Wilson one-yard scoring plunge.
The Blue Devils then turned on the dramatics, scoring two touchdowns in the final 2:20 of the half to take a 21-20 advantage into intermission.
Landen King brought Duke within a touchdown with 2:20 left in the second on a 17-yard pass from Darian Mensah. The Blue Devils were able to keep the drive alive on third-down receptions by Que'Sean Brown and Jeremiah Hasley.
Facing a fourth-and-two at the Duke 24-yard line with 57 seconds left in the half, NC State attempted a pass, but Luke Mergott rushed Bailey and Tre Freeman intercepted the hurried pass and returned it to the NCSU 12-yard line.
Three plays later, Castle marched into the end zone again, this time from one yard away to put Duke ahead 21-20 at intermission.
Duke kept the momentum going on the opening drive of the second half with a 33-yard scoring strike from Mensah to Sahmir Hagans to make it a 28-20 Duke advantage.
The Wolfpack answered immediately with a Hollywood Smothers 51-yard burst. NC State went for two and Bailey was dropped short of the end zone for a 28-26 Duke lead.
The Blue Devils scored on their ensuing possession as Cooper Barkate caught his first touchdown pass at Duke with a fourth-down, 37-yard grab to push the lead to 35-26.
NC State seemed in perfect position to reply with a first-and-six from the Duke six-yard line, but Wesley Williams blocked his fifth career kick on a 25-yard field goal attempt to keep Duke in front, 35-26 with 5:40 to play in the third.
The teams headed to the fourth with the same 35-26 score.
Duke tacked on a Todd Pelino 43-yard field goal to go up 38-26 with 14:18 to play.
NC State pulled within five, 38-33, with a rushing touchdown but Castle iced the game with a 66-yard burst to secure the final margin of 45-33.