College Football
No. 2 Clemson vs Duke College Football Preview
Clemson vs Duke. The days of the Duke Blue Devils being consistent bottom dwellers appear to have passed. Head Coach David Cutcliffe has built a respectable program out of Duke and any team wanting to overlook them is asking to be upset. However, Duke heads into a matchup with no. 2 Clemson on their home turf. Head Coach Dabo Swinney has his squad in championship mode and each opponent gets the same focus, big or small. Death Valley will be rocking with Military Appreciation and Senior Day ceremonies going on. Will Duke spoil the festivities Saturday night in Clemson?
Clemson O vs Duke D
The Tigers roll into this matchup with a highly explosive offense averaging over 500 yards a game. Duke’s defense isn’t exactly keeping teams from moving the ball on them letting offenses average over 400 yards per game against them. The bad part about Duke’s defensive stats is that the rushing yards (212) allowed exceeds the passing yards (194) allowed per game. Duke is going to need to play the game of their lives and hope Clemson wants to rest their starters early in this one to have a chance.
Advantage: Clemson
Clemson D vs Duke O
This will be a nice matchup to watch. Most people did not expect Texas A&M to hang with Clemson but QB Kellen Mond played a heckuva game to give the Aggies a shot at victory. Duke QB Daniel Jones could provide a similar spark Saturday night. Daniel Jones is a gamer. Last week he had over 500 yards of total offense and four total touchdowns against in-state rival North Carolina. If Jones can get loose as Kellen Mond did against Clemson, this could be a shootout. Still, Clemson’s defense is going to make plays and be tough to move the ball on.
Advantage: Clemson
What will happen…
Clemson will have a fired up crowd on Saturday night. A night game mixed with Military Appreciation, Senior Day, and all purple uniforms are going to be a fun environment. The Tigers will probably play a lot of players in the first quarter which will keep the game close. By the second quarter, I suspect the talent will start to take over and Duke will be down by double digits heading into the half. The third quarter will be much of the same before Clemson takes a comfortable lead then plays everyone that has legs on their sideline (Air Bud, anyone?). Clemson closes out ACC play undefeated and everyone dances the night away.
Final Score: Clemson 52 Duke 20
Keep up with all sports @TSJ101Sports!
Photo Credit to Joshuak8 via Flickr
