Clemson vs. Duke Prediction: The Tigers will start fast on Labor Day |
Clemson football is finally here as the No. 9-ranked Tigers and Duke Blue Devils play the last game of week one of the college football season. The wait is over.
Clemson sends out quarterback Cade Klubnik for his second career start, and Klubnik will be under the guidance of new offensive coordinator Garrett Riley. Riley and his Air Raid offense have brought a certain confidence to his group, and after 30-plus practices over the spring and summer, we all get to see it in action against an opponent for the first time. Happy Labor Day. Now, spot the ball. NO. 9/9 CLEMSON (0-0, 0-0 ACC) at RV/RV DUKE (0-0, 0-0 ACC) TELEVISION: ESPN (Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek, Tom Luginbill) CLEMSON/DUKE SERIES HISTORY OVERALL: Clemson leads series, 37-16-1 NOTABLE *Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney enters the game with a 99-19 record in ACC regular season play. With a win on Monday, he would become only the second coach ever to lead a program to 100 career regular season conference victories as head of an ACC program, joining Bobby Bowden, whose more than 300 career wins at Florida State included 117 conference wins following the Seminoles' addition to the conference in 1992. *Clemson is playing its 27th Monday game all-time, but only its 11th regular season Monday game in school history. Clemson is attempting to improve to 16-11 all-time in Monday games, including an 8-3 record in Monday regular season games. *Clemson has won 30 of its last 38 season openers. Dabo Swinney is 12-2 in openers in his career, with his only losses coming to Georgia in 2014 and 2021. Swinney’s 12 season-opening wins are second-most in school history, three ahead of Danny Ford (9) and 13 shy of Frank Howard’s record of 25. *Dabo Swinney has a 35-3 record against teams from North Carolina. Swinney’s only losses to teams from North Carolina were at North Carolina in 2010 (21-16) and at NC State in 2011 (37-13) and 2021 (27-21). Swinney is also 18-4 in games played inside the state limits of North Carolina (including seven ACC Championship Game wins in Charlotte), with wins in 17 of his last 19 trips to the state. WHEN DUKE HAS THE BALL Clemson’s defense looks to be loaded. With Andrew Mukuba starting at the nickel spot, the starting secondary combines for 5,440 career snaps. That experience will be needed against Duke quarterback Riley Leonard. Leonard emerged as a star in his sophomore season with 33 touchdowns. He accounted for more than 2,900 passing yards and 695 rushing yards. Clemson features two of the nation’s best linebackers in Barrett Carter and Jeremiah Trotter, and two of the nation’s best defensive tackles in Ruke Orhorhoro and Tyler Davis. Justin Mascoll and Xavier Thomas will be looking to hold down the defensive end spots. Riley can throw on the run, and the Tigers will have to make sure someone always has an eye on him. Even if the Tigers get pressure, he can escape the pocket and move the chains with his feet. He has playmakers around him, but he’s the cog that makes their machine go. Clemson must consistently pressure Leonard while ensuring he stays in the pocket. WHEN CLEMSON HAS THE BALL Ninth nationally in turnovers gained last season, Duke had 26 takeaways. The Devils won the turnover battle in eight of 13 games and were 6-2 in that stretch. Captains and defensive linemen DeWayne Carter and Ja’Mion Franklin lead the Blue Devils. Those two will look to create havoc up front and put pressure on Klubnik. And this is where this game is really interesting – I want to see if Clemson’s offensive line has improved as much as I think they have. The Tigers have four returning starters up front, and this group just looks different than it has over the past few seasons. Klubnik and the rest of the offense have raved about how the offense's tempo has improved and how the middle of the field is used. They’ve also raved about how this gets playmakers open in space. In other words, a lot of the stuff we haven’t seen in a few years. And while everyone will be watching the wide receivers, look for tight end Jake Briningstool to have a big night. Also, the two-headed monster of running backs Will Shipley and Phil Mafah, provided the offensive line is as good as I hope, should be able to move the chains. WHAT WILL HAPPEN This is where most will say that the two teams will take a quarter-plus to feel each other out, to get settled in, to say it will be close, and then the depth chart will take effect. But I think this Clemson offense is chomping at the bit to get out there and prove itself. They’ve heard how bad they have been for two years and how far the program has slipped. I asked Swinney the other night how long he feels like his team has been ready to play, and he said it’s been over a week. This is a group that’s ready to go. I think Clemson starts hot, and then things settle in. Duke is better than many people think, and they won’t go down easy and will fight back. But Clemson will score early, setting the tone for the evening. There is also historical precedent for this - the top two instances of the quickest back-to-back touchdowns in Clemson's history took place against Duke. In 2003, Derrick Hamilton caught scoring passes from Charlie Whitehurst just 14 seconds apart, a record for the quickest back-to-back touchdowns in Clemson history. In 1999, Brian Wofford scored on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Streeter, then Terry Jolly ran an interception back from 20 yards out, scores that took place just 21 seconds apart, the second-fastest back-to-back touchdown scores in Clemson history. It won’t be that fast. But the Tigers will have success early. FINAL SCORE: CLEMSON 38, DUKE 20 More TigerNet picks
RADIO: Clemson Athletic Network (Don Munson, Tim Bourret, Reggie Merriweather)
RADIO: Westwood One Sports (Mike Watts, Ryan Leaf)
SATELLITE RADIO: SiriusXM 133 or 193
HOME: Clemson leads series, 20-4-1
ROAD: Clemson leads series, 15-12
NEUTRAL: Clemson leads series, 2-0
LAST MEETING: Nov. 17, 2018 (35-6, W)
STREAK: Clemson, Won 5
Mickey Plyler - The Roar 105.5 morning show host - 31-17 Clemson
Nikki Hood - Staff writer - 45-17 Clemson
Brandon Rink - Associate editor - 31-16 Clemson
Tony Crumpton - Associate editor - 34-20 Clemson
Pigskin Prophet - 37-17 Clemson
Ryan Kantor - Contributing Writer - 41-17 Clemson
Ariana Pensy - TigerNet Intern - 35-10 Clemson
Merrell Mann - Photographer - 35-13 Clemson
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