Clemson Football: Tigers look to focus on Duke with playoff looming

Clemson football will be heavy favorites over the next three weeks, and are a near mortal lock to make the playoff. Can it maintain focus against Duke?

The biggest roadblock remaining between Clemson and the College Football Playoff was last week in Chestnut Hill, and while they had to earn it, the Tigers ended up with a comfortable 27-7 victory over Boston College.

With all the talk on Trevor Lawrence and the offense, it was the Clemson defense that took center stage last Saturday night, holding the Eagles to just 113 yards of offense in a dominant performance.

Now, Clemson heads back home with consecutive games in Death Valley to finish up the regular season before a date with an overmatched Coastal Division champion in the ACC title game in two weeks. Those three games appear to be nothing more than glorified tune-up games as the Tigers prep for the playoff.

First up is Duke, and the Blue Devils have enjoyed a largely successful 2018 campaign entering this weekend’s game at 7-3. Having already clinched bowl eligibility, and with the Coastal out of reach, Duke is hoping to play spoiler and knock Clemson out of the playoff.

QB Daniel Jones has been instrumental in the Blue Devils’ rise this season, and is beginning to garner serious NFL Draft buzz as a result. It’ll take a near perfect game from Jones to give Duke a shot at shocking the college football world on Saturday night.

Can the Blue Devils pull the major upset, or will Clemson continue its dominance of the ACC?

Here’s how you can watch Saturday night’s game between Clemson and Duke:

Date: Saturday, Nov. 17
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Location: Clemson, S.C.
Venue: Memorial Stadium
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN | FuboTV

Keys to Victory

Clemson will look to impose their will by running the ball early and often against a soft Duke front. As good as freshman wunderkind Trevor Lawrence has been, the Tigers’ bread-and-butter this season has been their ground attack, keyed by Heisman hopeful Travis Etienne. Dabo Swinney’s team ranks 12th in the nation in rushing offense, averaging over 250 yards per game on the ground. That will be problematic for a Duke team that gives up 212 yards per game rushing, which ranks 108th in the country.

For the Blue Devils to remain competitive, they will have to at least feign competency against the run. If Clemson is able to impose their will and rip off six, seven, eight-plus yard runs at a time, then this game will get out of hand quickly. Even without Dylan Singleton, Duke boasts a talented secondary that could make things difficult for a young quarterback like Lawrence. Clemson won’t have to take many risks throwing the ball, however, unless Duke can figure out how to stop the run.

Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of oddsshark.com

Point Spread: Clemson -28.5
Over/Under: 57.5

Prediction

Duke has a big problem in the trenches on both sides of the ball. They’ve struggled to stop the run all season long, and Clemson has the most talented offensive line and stable of running backs that the Blue Devils front has seen all season long. On the other side, as good as Daniel Jones has been, he’s likely to get harassed all evening long against a ferocious Clemson front seven that is littered with future pros. The talent difference on both lines-of-scrimmage figures to be too great for Duke to be competitive.

Final Score: Clemson 42, Duke 7