Clemson Football
Clemson football is a powerhouse in college football, known for its dynamic offense, disciplined defense, and a tradition of excellence in the ACC. With multiple national championships and a history of producing NFL talent, the Tigers consistently compete at the highest level. Fans can expect hard-hitting action, exciting rivalries, and a program that blends storied tradition with modern innovation on the field.
Duke Vs Clemson Recap
Article Written by: Aaron Lewis
Photos Contributed by: Vickie Mathis
1st Half Summary
After a gutsy 4th and 3rd completion at the Clem 46-yard line, Duke caps the 9 plays 53-yard drive with a 19-yard Darian Mensah TD pass Q. Brown. Clemson rallies to tie the game up on a 5-yard TD scamper by A. Williams to end
a 6 play 75-yard drive with 6.5 min left in the 1st quarter. Duke responds with a quick 2 play 79-yard drive ending in a crowd quieting 77- yard TD pass from Mensah to Cooper Barkate to pull ahead 14-7.
After a short, stalled Clemson driving resulting in a punt, Duke mounts a 10 play
72-yard drive ending in a 20-yard TD connection from Mensah to A. Anthony, ending the 1st quarter with a 21-7 lead.
Clemson responds with a 10 play 75-yard TD drive of their own. Klubnik connects with A. Williams for a 4-yard TD pass to start off the 2nd quarter. Clemson ties the game 21-21 with an A. Randall rushes up the middle from the 2-
yard line to top off a 7 play 68-yard TD drive with 5.5 min remaining before the half.
After 2 straight stalled drives resulting in punts, Clemson takes the lead 28-21
with Randall’s 2nd rushing TD of the half with 1 min remaining.
Duke scores a last second Mensah to Brown TD pass after 21 unanswered points to tie the game up 28-28 to end the half.
2nd Half Summary
After a stalled Blue Devil opening drive to start the second half, Clemson
responds with a 7 play 50-yard go-ahead TD drive to put the Tigers up 34-28 with 8.5 min remaining in the 3rd quarter.
Duke’s S. Hagans returns the ensuing kickoff 100 yards to immediately tie the game 35-35.
Clemson consumes over half of the 3rd quarter with an 8-minute 13 play 71-yard
drive ending in a FG to put the Tigers up 38-35 and all but put an end to the 3rd quarter.
Duke answers with a long FG drive of their own, taking up 4.5 min to tie the game 38-38 with 10:40 left in the game.
Clemson comes back out swinging with a quick 1 play 75-yard TD pass from Klubnik to T. Moore to regain the lead 45-38.
Duke’s next drive, catapulted by a 56-yard connection from Mensah to TE J.
Hasley ends with a controversial pass interference call as the Blue Devils go for it on 4th
down at the Clem 18-yard line to give Duke a fresh set of downs. Duke punches it in on a 3-yard TD run by Sheppard. The Blue Devils go for the win on a gutsy 2-point conversion as Mensah throws a go-ahead dump off pass complete to Hagans go up by 1 and ultimately win with 40 seconds remaining in the game.
Key Takeaways
Clemson is in a clear downward trajectory following their second loss in a row.
Even with their offense nearly doubling their score total from the previous game, it
wasn’t enough to hold off the Blue Devils as Duke wins at Memorial Stadium for the first time in 45 years. If that doesn’t exemplify the condition of the Clemson Tigers football
program, I don’t know what does. It would seem as if change were in the future for the
Tigers after falling 2-3 in conference play, what change that will be, time will tell. In the post-game press conference, Swinney’s comment to the question on
whether or not this is the most disappointing season in his tenure as the head coach of
the Tigers during the post-game conference stated that the “The 2010 season was probably the worst season followed by this one, I thought I might get fired walking out of
the press conference room”. The Tigers went 6-7 (4-4) in 2010, they have met their conference loss total from that season with this loss to Duke.
Duke improves to 4-1 in conference, still in the hunt for a shot at the ACC title
game, though there is much room for improvement on the defensive side of the football
for the Blue Devils. Darian Mensah is the clear bright spot for their program, throwing for 361 yards and 4 TD.
