Deion Prime asked the football world, “Do you believe?” Duke football was 0-28 against top-10 teams until Monday night. The last top-10 team they defeated? Clemson. The Blue Devils defeated No. 7 Clemson in 1989 on their way to the ACC Championship.
Duke football shocked the college football world on Monday, defeating the No. 9 Clemson Tigers 28-7 at Wallace Wade Stadium. Clearly, the talent disparity between the Blue Devils and the Tigers was not that wide. The Blue Devils were the more disciplined, crisp football team this evening.
Both defenses were stout most of the game, as the offenses had issues moving the football consistently. This was arguably the most physical game of the opening slate of games.
New starting quarterback Cade Klubnik had issues all night getting in sync with his receivers, and the offensive line could not block Duke’s defensive line. Clemson did have two opportunities to score in the red zone but fumbled twice inside the 10-yard line.
It was not pretty all the time for Duke’s offense, but Riley Leonard did not put the football in danger, and Clemson could not take advantage of two Duke fumbles.
Fans could not ask for a better end to Week 1 of the college football season.
3. Duke football found ways to score
Quarterback Riley Leonard was the Blue Devils’ offense tonight with 270 of their 374 total yards. He led Duke in passing and rushing. Duke had scoring opportunities early in the game and settled for field goals. It wasn’t until Leonard ran for a 44-yard touchdown in the third quarter that the Blue Devils were able to get across the goal line.
Duke ran the football well, rushing for nearly 200 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Jordan Waters chipped in 63 yards, and fellow back Jaquez Moore had 43 yards. The offensive line did a good job keeping Leonard clean. Clemson did not sack him; they only had four tackles for loss.
Clemson struggled to find its rhythm
There was a lot of buzz when Dabo Swinney went outside of the Clemson family to hire Garrett Riley away from TCU. Everyone saw how Max Duggan flourished in Riley’s offense and saw Cade Klubnik doing the same. That might still happen, but it did not happen tonight.
Clemson ran the football well tonight, rushing for 213 yards and 5.3 yards per rush, but the passing game was out of sync. Klubnik missed some throws, and the receivers had trouble separating (4.9 yards per attempt is proof of that).
2. Duke football’s defense played well
Duke held Clemson scoreless on three trips to the red zone. They blocked a field goal and forced two fumbles. Quite frankly, the Blue Devils looked like the more physical team defensively. They gave up some yards rushing, but Will Shipley is also one of the best running backs in college football.
Duke came up with big defensive plays when needed, especially in the second half. Clemson established the run in the second half, but the Blue Devils came up with plays on defense when it needed them. In addition to the two fumbles, Klubnik threw a bad interception, and Duke stopped Clemson on downs.
Clemson’s defense did not make the key plays
Clemson outgained Duke 422-374. Duke converted just 5-of-15 third downs. They forced two fumbles as well. Somehow, Duke found a way to score despite Clemson being pretty stout on defense. Duke did move the ball well on its first two scoring drives. Leonard made an amazing play on the touchdown run.
Clemson’s offense did the defense no favors, either.
1. What’s next for Duke football?
Monday night saw the biggest win for Duke since 1989. Playing Lafayette is great for the Blue Devils. They can come down from the high of beating the Tigers. They can play their ‘C’ game and still come out with a win.
It’s a real possibility that Duke can be 4-0 before hosting No. 13 Notre Dame on Sept. 30.
Head coach Mike Elko and his staff have found a sustainable way to recruit and bring in transfers. It was obvious Duke’s talent level was not that far behind Clemson. Also, they were deep along the defensive line. Elko rotated defensive linemen all game long.
What’s next for Clemson?
The Tigers get Charleston Southern and Florida Atlantic before resuming conference play against No. 8 Florida State. They need those two weeks to figure out the passing game. Diversity and explosive talent were questions about the receiving room coming into the season. There are going to be a large number of think pieces about Dabo Swinney embracing the portal, and they aren’t wrong.
The defense looks elite. It would be a waste if the offense can’t get it together. That said, if they play like this against Florida State, they’ll lose by four touchdowns.