Inveigle
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9th Ranked Clemson Tigers vs Unranked Duke Blue Devils
Monday, September 4, 2023
Location: Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, NC
TV: ESPN+
Odds/Point Spread: Blue Devils +12.5
Total/Over-Under: 56.5
The Clemson Tigers finished the season with a 11-3 record. In their last contest, the Tigers faced the Tennessee Volunteers and ended up losing by a score of 31-14. Cade Klubnik connected on 30/54 with 320 yds passing. He had a QB rating of 97.9 and finished the game with 2 picks. Will Shipley led the offense in rushing for the Tigers with 17 carries for 72 yards (4.2 yds per attempt). At the end of the game, they tallied 101 plays which gave them 484 yards. The Clemson Tigers ended up rushing 45 times and amassed 164 yds, earning them an average of 3.6 yds per attempt. When it came to stopping the run, the Tigers conceded 124 yards on 38 tries, which averages out to 3.3 yds per run surrendered. Clemson gave up 19 completions on 28 attempts for a total of 251 yards, and a completion percentage of 67.9%.
When it comes to scoring points, the Clemson Tigers held an average of 33.2 points per outing. As a unit they maintained an average of 177.9 yds on the ground, which had them sitting 47th in the nation. The Tigers racked up 5,744 total yards last season. Clemson totaled 24 touchdowns via the pass and 31 touchdowns on the ground. Clemson totaled 321 1st downs as a team, and they committed 76 infractions for 675 yards. They surrendered the ball 22 different times.
The Tigers ranked 22nd in the nation when it comes to team defense, allowing 20.9 points per game. They allowed teams to run for an average of 3.3 yards per attempt on the ground and 102.7 yards on the ground per game last season. Over the course of last season, they conceded 1,438 yards via the ground game in 14 games. In terms of passing yards, the Tigers gave up 3,244 yards which ranked them 99th in college football. Over the course of their 14 games, they conceded 231.7 yards per game via the pass and relinquishing a completion percentage of 61.3%. They surrendered 334.4 yards/outing which had them sitting 28th in college football. They relinquished 21 touchdowns through the air and 13 touchdowns via the ground game.
The Blue Devils wrapped up their year having earned a 9-4 record. When they last played, the Blue Devils took home the win by a final score of 30-13 when they played the UCF Knights. Riley Leonard carried the ball 10 times for 63 yds, finishing the game with 6.3 yds per carry for Duke. Riley Leonard finished the contest with 173 yds on 19/28 passing while his quarterback rate was 119.8. He didn't toss any picks and his average yards per attempt was 6.2. Duke relinquished 36 running attempts for 128 yds (3.6 yards per carry). The Blue Devils passing defense allowed a completion percentage of 62.9%, relinquishing 198 yds on 22 out of 35 through the air. The Blue Devils finished the game with 350 yards while they ran 69 plays (5.1 yds per play). Duke ran for 4.4 yds per carry, totaling 177 yards on 40 carries.
Duke averaged 415.7 yards/contest, ranking them 44th in the nation. The Duke offense racked up 657 yds of penalties on 68 violations, ranking them 97th in college football in terms of helping out the opposition. For the previous season, the Blue Devils compiled 3,010 passing yards along with an average of 231.5 passing yards per outing, which ranked 68th in the nation. When it comes to their ability to score points, the Blue Devils were ranked 32nd in the country by scoring 32.8 points per game.
Also, Duke conceded a total of 1,581 yards on the ground (121.6 yards/game) and 10 touchdowns via the rush throughout last year. They allowed 25 touchdowns from the passing game in addition to 257.3 yards per game, ranking them 105th in D-1. The Blue Devils defense participated in 891 plays, which had them ranked 78th in college football. The Blue Devils surrendered 22.1 PPG, which put them in 31st in D-1. Last year, they conceded 287 total points.
Clemson is a perennial power. Not only in the ACC, but also as a National program. Duke is on the rise with its best coach probably ever. The longer a team like Duke can hang around and keep this game close the better this team has an opportunity to shock Clemson and college football. This game will tell us quite a bit about the upcoming season. It's a test for Clemson as a Top 10 team, but it's also a huge test for a Duke team who wants to step up on the ladder to the next level.
My Prediction:
Clemson 31
Duke 24
Let's Go Duke!
