Clemson returned to play this week against Duke in Death Valley. ESPN had the Tigers favored which I didn't understand, especially so when Duke went up 217 in the 1st quarter. But the Tigers finally got going and we ended up with a shootout. Duke played to win and they got it thanks to some bad play by the Tigers, especially on defense, some questionable play calling and some officiating calls that I thought were pretty questionable. It was just one of those days where the close things didn't fall the Tigers way https://www.clemsontigersfansshop.com/320-Joe_Wilkinson_Jersey, and they lost struck first on their opening drive with a 19yard pass. The Tiger defense appeared to have forced a FG attempt on 4th and 8 earlier in the drive but they jumped offside and the Blue Devils succeeded in moving the chains. The Tiger offense was looking a bit toothless on their first two possessions until Cade Klubnik hit Antonio Williams with a 64yard pass down to the Blue Devil 15. Three plays later, Williams scored on a jet sweep to even up the score at 77 with 6:25 left in the quarter. Duke struck back immediately when the Tiger defense broke down in spectacular fashion when Avieon Terrell came on a corner blitz and there was no safety over the top to cover his receiver. There wasn't a Tiger within 20 yards of Blue Devil receiver Cooper Barkate as he scored from 7yards out. The toothless Tigers had no response on offense and Duke answered with an effective drive that ended with a 20yard TD pass to increase their lead to 217 at the end of the 1st Clemson offense decided they wanted to play football and started the 2nd quarter with a nice 79yard drive that ended with another score by Williams to make it 24. The defense got the message too, apparently, and forced a 3out on Duke's next possession. The offense kept their momentum and played with some good energy. They moved down the field with determination and scored on a 2yard inyourface run up the middle by Adam Randall to tie it up at 2121 with just under minutes left in the half. The defense also came out with that momentum and forced another 3out. The offense said hank you and took the ball down the field again for 77yards that culminated in a 2yard run by Randall for the TD. What really stood out to me on that drive was that the offensive line looked like they were playing angry, pushing Duke players around at will. The Tiger defense started well but then gave up a 43yard pass down the middle to allow Duke to tie it up 2828 at the end of the 1st was pretty fired up on the sideline after the defense gave up that TD. I guess the defense got an earful at halftime because they put the Blue Devils at 3rd24 and Duke then had to punt. Tyler Venables blocked the punt and the Tiger offense got the ball at midfield. I'm trying to remember the last time Clemson had a big play like that on special teams. The Tigers got to 4th3 at the Duke 43 and they converted it with a bubble screen. They proceeded to move down to the Duke 2 where Peter Woods scored the big boy TD to put the Tigers up 3528. But, true to form, the Tigers followed up a good special teams play with a very bad one https://www.clemsontigersfansshop.com/80-Marcus_Edmond_Jersey, giving up a 101yard kickoff return. The score was tied again at 3535. The Tiger offense followed with a good drive where freshman RB Gideon Davidson had multiple runs and pass catches and Williams converted a 4th2. They moved down to the 3 and then the play calling got stupid. They had to settle for a FG to take the lead 3835 at the end of the 3rd 's offense started firing again and moved into the red zone but had to settle for a FG to tie the game again, 3838. Clemson struck right back with a bubble screen that T.J. Moore took yards for a touchdown. At 10:28, Clemson led 4538. The Tiger defense got the job done and forced the Blue Devils to punt. The Tiger offense got to midfield but then had to punt. With minutes left, Duke started from their yard line. The defense appeared to have the Blue Devils set to punt, but another breakdown in coverage on 3rd down resulted in a huge 56yard pass down the middle to the TE. The Tigers had a chance finish them off on 4th1 but our LBs couldn't cover a pass in the flat and Duke converted it. With 49 seconds left, the defense put Duke at 4th down again, with 10 yards to gain at the Tiger 18. But a very questionable pass interference penalty gave the Blue Devils the ball 1stgoal at the 3. Duke ran it in with 40 seconds left. They went for 2 and got it to go up 4645. The kickoff was fielded in the end zone, putting the Tigers at their 25. Clemson was called for offensive pass interference. Several frustrating plays later Clemson needed a miracle with 2 seconds left. They wouldn't get , once again, Clemson found themselves on the short end of things as the clock expired. This has been the toughest year for the Tigers in many years. I guess it will just be one of those haracter years where you get to see how the program responds to weekin Josh Sapp Jersey, weekout adversity.
