New-look Clemson offense hasahardtime, No. 9 Tigers fall to Duke

Riley Leonard broke loose from a tackler and ran to the open for a 44-yard goal that highlighted Duke’s hard and physical efficiency that stunned ninth-ranked Clemson 28-7 in Monday night’s season opener for both groups.

Jaquez Moore included a 9-lawn scoring run by pounding several protectors to the near pylon on the right side in the 4th quarter for the Blue Devils (1-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), offering them an unanticipated two-touchdown lead in a videogame they mostly managed in spite of many miscues.

[Clemson plummets to No. 24 in RJ Young’s College Football Rankings]

That’s since Duke thrice held up after Clemson had pressed inside the 10-yard line — even to the 1 on 2 of those belongings — to hold the Tigers scoreless. The Blue Devils obstructed 2 field objectives and twotimes required fumbles in those vital near-the-goal-line minutes. And they made Clemson work to relocation the chains rather of moving the ball in pieces under brand-new offending organizer Garrett Riley.

In brief, the Blue Devils made the preseason ACC favorite appearance really, really common en path to pounding the Tigers (0-1, 0-1) for the veryfirst time because 2004.

By the last minutes, Clemson was simply attempting to keep the chains moving and develop towards any type of wonder return while lotsof of the orange-clad fans who jam-packed into Duke’s Wallace Wade Stadium streamed for the exits with more than 5 minutes left.

That offered Duke’s trainees — normally understood for their rowdy “Cameron Crazies” popularity in basketball — a monopoly to commemorate in an environment growing ever more joyful as the clock injury towards absolutelyno.

Once it got there, they squandered no time sprinting in a holler to midfield even with time still on the clock to commemorate a big win that just evenmore verifies second-year coach Mike Elko’s technique in structure a hard, competitive edge here.

Jordan Waters included a stressing minute by breaking loose for a 36-yard scoring run with 3: 15 left to turn the videogame into a romp. And it ended Duke’s 28-game losing streak to leading-10 challengers, the last win coming — fittingly — versus then-No. 7 Clemson in 1989.

Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik, handed the reins while veteran DJ Uiagalelei moved to Oregon State, finished 27 of 43 passes for 209 lawns while tossing one goal pass and one interception.

Klubnik tossed for a brief goal to Will Shipley in the 2nd quarter for Clemson’s just rating on a day that consistently left coach Dabo Swinney shaking his head (after a 2nd obstructed kick) or cleaning his forehead (after a fourth-quarter fumble at the objective line) in aggravation on the sideline.

The takeaway

Clemson: Riley’s arrival after assisting TCU make last year’s national-championship videogame was expected to supply a stimulate for the Klubnik-led offense. The Tigers endedup with 422 overall lawns, however consistently fell brief in crucial minutes while stumbling into huge errors.

Duke: Elko took over a program that hadactually seen its winning edge fizzle in the last years of David Cutcliffe’s long and effective period. He rebuilt self-confidence and discovered instant success with 9 wins, consistingof a bowl triumph, in Year 1 after Duke had won 10 videogames in the 3 previous seasons. And now, he’s got his mostsignificant win as a newbie head coach.

Poll ramifications

The Tigers have mostlikely sentout themselves careening down, or even out of, Tuesday’s brand-new survey with this revealing. But the Blue Devils might be in line to fracture the rankings for the veryfirst time giventhat 2018.

Up next

Clemson: The Tigers return house to host Charleston Southern from the Big South Conference on Saturday.

Duke: The Blue Devils host a nonconference videogame versus Lafayette from the Patriot League on Saturday.

Reporting by The Associated Press.