Clemson Football: 3 takeaways from comfortable win over Duke
By Dana Becker
2. Tiger defense remains ahead of pack
You would have to believe Duke entered its Saturday night matchup with ACC leader Clemson feeling like they had a good chance. Heck, at least an offense that could do some damage against the vaunted defense of the Tigers.
But all hope was lost when Clemson decided to put the hammer down, forcing a couple of early field goals and keeping the Blue Devils off the scoreboard from there. This from a Duke team that scored 42 last week in a win over North Carolina, and posted 55 and 40 points in September victories.
Daniel Jones, who might be one of the first quarterbacks taken in the NFL draft if he decides to leave early, was completely contained by the Clemson front-four including Clelin Ferrell and Christian Wilkins. Duke didn’t commit a turnover, but they struggled on third-down conversions and failed to reach the 300-yard mark in the game, averaging just three yards per carry on the ground.
This was the sixth time on the year that the opposition failed to reach double figures, as Clemson has held Furman, Georgia Southern, Wake Forest, NC State, Boston College and now Duke under the 10-point mark.