Duke Delivers Huge Upset to №9 Clemson
To finish off an already wild weekend of college football, the Duke Blue Devils shocked the nation on Monday night by defeating №9 Clemson 28–7. On a night where Clemson was expected to win easily, the Tigers seemed to have trouble with every aspect of the game.
Leonard Leads Duke to Victory
Prior to the game, the only reason anyone gave Duke a chance to win was due to their star quarterback, Riley Leonard. Luckily for Duke, Leonard showed up in a big way and helped the Blue Devils get the win with his 175 passing yards to go with 98 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
The first half saw Duke have multiple opportunities to score touchdowns but they were held to just six points going into the half. They had two promising drives be abruptly stopped where they would be forced to kick a field goal on each. Toward the end of the half, Duke was driving down the field but lost a fumble that would end any chance of them scoring before the break, leaving them trailing 7–6.
The second half is where the whole game changed. On their opening drive of the quarter, Leonard scored a 44 yard touchdown run to give the Blue Devils the lead.
Following multiple turnovers from the Tigers, Jacquez Moore scored a nine yard touchdown run that was capitalized by a two-point conversion to put them up 21–7 with a little over 10 minutes to go.
After another Clemson turnover, Jordan Waters put the nail in the coffin by scoring another touchdown for the Blue Devils, giving them an insurmountable 28–7 lead with 3:15 left in the game.
Problem After Problem
Clemson looked out of sorts the entire game. The offense had no rhythm throughout the night and struggled to get anything to go right for them.
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Cade Klubnik didn’t appear like himself as he threw a lot of quick passes and didn’t seem to trust himself at times. There was little chemistry between him and his receivers, which led to Clemson not being able to play like their usual selves.
The Tigers also struggled with taking care of the ball as they finished with three turnovers in the game. Two of their turnovers were fumbles that came on the goal line just inches away from scoring. One of which was a poor exchange from Klubnik to Will Shipley and the other was a fumble from Phil Mafah that the Blue Devils recovered and later turned into a touchdown.
In addition to the turnovers, the Tigers also had issues kicking the ball. Their first field goal attempt was blocked and their other try was missed left. It just seemed that nothing could go Clemson’s way on Monday night.
What’s Next for Both Teams?
For Clemson, a shot at the College Football Playoff is not out of the realm of possibility, but it certainly will not be easy. The Tigers clearly have a lot of issues they need to address in order to avoid this happening to them again.
If there is one positive they can take from this game, it’s that the run game looked great. Shipley is just as dominant as last season and Mafah looked good as well, beside the fumble. Their pass attack will need some time to improve so in the meantime, they should rely on Shipley and Mafah to carry the load.
For Duke, they now have the country’s attention and with that, comes a lot of pressure. To beat a team of Clemson’s caliber the way they did, they clearly have a lot of talent. The question that will rise is if Duke can keep this up the whole season or if this was just a one-time thing.
With a schedule that sees the Blue Devils play №10 Notre Dame, №4 Florida State, and №17 North Carolina, the country will get to see how real this Duke team is. How they perform in these ranked matchups will reveal the true character of the Devils and how serious a threat they really are.
Clemson also has a rough road ahead of them, having to face off with the same ranked teams as Duke. If Clemson wants a shot at the CFP, they will most likely have to stay flawless the rest of the season, which seems like quite the tall task.
By Jake Klinger
