It was a tough day for the Duke offense, as neither quarterback Anthony Boone (7) nor injured starter Sean Renfree could generate any momentum. Credit: STEVE CANNON, AP

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Duke was held to a season-low in both total yards and passing yards. But one Blue Devil had the most productive day of his young career.

Entering the game, freshman wide receiver Max McCaffrey had zero catches. By the time the first half was over, he had two.

McCaffrey, the son of 13-year NFL veteran Ed McCaffrey, caught the two longest passes Sean Renfree threw. The first was a 13-yard completion on Duke’s opening drive, and the second was a drive-extending, 18-yard catch on third down on the Blue Devils’ lone scoring drive.

McCaffrey said he didn’t know ahead of time that he would play a bigger role in the offense.

Updated 8:20 p.m.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.— Throughout the one-sided history of the Duke and Florida State series, the Seminoles have topped 41 points in 16 of the 18 games. 

It's a matchup of ACC divisional leaders here in Tallahassee. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

TALLAHASSE, Fla.—On an unseasonably warm day in the Florida Panhandle, Duke and Florida State will soon take the field for warmups and then kick off what could be a  preview of the ACC Championship game in Charlotte. 

Seriously.

N.C. State has not opened a basketball season ranked ahead of both North Carolina and Duke in 37 years.

That changed Friday.

The Wolfpack is ranked No. 6 in the preseason AP Top 25, two spots ahead of Duke (No. 8) and five spots ahead of the Tar Heels (No. 11). The 1974-75 preseason poll is the last time State was voted ahead of both of its Triangle rivals to start the season.

After a circus, game-winning catch last week, Jamison Crowder and the Blue Devils will try to repeat the feat against Florida State. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

Duke vs. Florida State

When: 3:30 p.m.

Where: Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee

Line: Florida State by 27.5

TV/Radio: ESPNU/102.9 FM (more on the radio broadcast here)

What they’re saying nationally about Duke:

Sports Illustrated’s Stewart Mandel: To fully grasp the storybook nature of Duke's milestone, just look at the program's recent history before coach David Cutcliffe's 2008 arrival. Since going 8-4 and reaching the Hall of Fame Bowl in 1994, the Blue Devils have endured four winless seasons, two one-win seasons and three two-win seasons. Cutcliffe's predecessor, Ted Roof, went 6-45 from 2003-07. Roof's predecessor, Carl Franks, went 7-45. Despite upgrading the program's depth and talent over the past few years, Cutcliffe still endured consecutive 3-9 seasons prior to the 2012 campaign.

Key defenders like Jordon Byas will need to come up with big stops for Duke in Tallahassee. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

DURHAM—Make no mistake: Florida State is bigger, faster and stronger than Duke.

“Florida State has probably had the best recruiting classes the past few years,” cornerback Ross Cockrell said. “All we can do is continue to work hard and play hard. At the end of the day, athletic ability doesn’t determine who is going to win a football game.”

Now that it’s established that the Blue Devils are aware of the challenge that awaits them Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Tallahassee, the question becomes how do they overcome it?

Expect Brandon Connette to play versus Florida State. Credit: CHRIS SEWARD

DURHAM—Duke coach David Cutcliffe announced the S Brandon Braxton was injured in Wednesday's practice when he met with the media Thursday morning. Consequently, Braxton is listed as doubtful for the game against Florida State.

Braxton missed the game against Virginia after injuring himself early in the game against Wake Forest.

WR Conner Vernon, who last week was part of a strange, pre-snap collision with UNC Shakeel Rashad that resulted in a suspension for Rashad and two officials, is not on the injury report. He did not practice Sunday after tweaking his knee on that play. 

Both Devonta Freeman and Ross Cockrell have taken on bigger roles for their team since last year's meeting between Duke and Florida State. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

Earlier this week, I traded questions with David Hale, who covers Florida State for ESPN. Here's a link to what I told him. Enjoy.

How significant is the loss of Chris Thompson?

David Hale: It's a major blow for Florida State's offense. Purely from a running game standpoint, it may not be a huge loss, as James Wilder Jr. and Devonta Freeman have both run well when given the opportunity this year. In terms of all the other little things that a great running back provides though -- pass blocking, blitz pick-up, catching passes out of the backfield, leadership in the huddle -- there's going to be a lot of questions. Thompson was, in many ways, the heart and soul of the offense, and while Wilder and Freeman have the talent to step in and succeed, replacing Thompson is a very tall task.

What aspects of the game are the Noles looking to tighten up as the season enters its November stretch?

After five years of hard work, Sean Renfree is racking up recognition of his success. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

In the past week, Duke quarterback Sean Renfree has engineered a game-winning drive to give Duke a bowl birth for the first time since 1994 and received two different awards for his on and off-the-field accomplishments. 

Wednesday, Renfree was named one of 15 recipients of the National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete Award, which comes with a $18,000 postgraduate scholarhsip. Renfree is also a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, awarded to the top scholar-athlete in the nation. He and head coach David Cutcliffe will go to New York Dec. 4 for the presentation. 

"I definitely fortunate," Renfree said. "I'm also fortunate to have coaches that push my name in there and act as an advocate on my part."

Mike Krzyzewski's radio show kicks off its eighth season tonight with a great anecdote from Louisville's Rick Pitino. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

A few programming notes for Duke sports fans:

*Wednesday (tonight) at 7 p.m., Mike Krzyzewski will kick off the eighth season of his "Basketball and Beyond" Sirius XM radio show. Like the title suggests, Krzyrewski talks about hoops and other topics that interest him. Tonight's guests include Louisville coach Rick Pitino and Orioles manager Buck Showalter. The hyperlinks on their names contain preview sound bites. Check it out.