Bedeviled: No. 9 Clemson stunned by Duke to open 2023 season. Here’s what went wrong
Clemson fumbled away more than a couple botched hand-offs Monday at Duke.
After a 28-7 loss to unranked Duke in which a new-look offense sputtered and a stacked defense allowed big plays and the tiny mistakes kept piling up, the No. 9 Tigers are 0-1, one loss away from College Football Playoff elimination and even farther away from their offseason aspirations of a 2023 national championship.
Blue Devils quarterback Riley Leonard had the go-ahead rushing touchdown and Duke stopped three straight Clemson drives inside the 10-yard line en route to their first win against an AP Top 10 opponent since 1989 against ... Clemson.
Coach Dabo Swinney’s program, operating under a new offensive coordinator in Garrett Riley, managed just one offensive touchdown in 13 possessions, had two field goals blocked and missed tackles galore in losing a game to an AP unranked opponent for the third straight season (N.C. State in 2021, Notre Dame in 2022).
The Tigers, who made five straight CFPs and won two national championships from 2015-20, will face a tough path to return that four-team field.
No team with two losses has made the CFP, essentially guaranteeing Clemson needs to win out against a tough schedule featuring Florida State, Notre Dame and UNC and win the ACC championship game in December just to sneak into the playoff.
Given how Monday’s game went, that feels like a long shot.
Clemson — which closed as a 13-point favorite — played a rocky first half starting off with Klubnik throwing what should’ve been an easy Duke interception (it was dropped) on his second pass attempt of the game.
Playing under a flashy new offensive coordinator in 2022 Broyles Award winner Riley, the Tigers scored zero points on their first four possessions and needed Duke to muff a punt at its own 18-yard line to first break into the end zone.
Klubnik’s two-yard pass to Shipley on a nifty play call put the Tigers up 7-6, but that was a lone highlight in a first half dominated by the Blue Devils.
Duke ripped off a number of chunk plays against Clemson, blocked a field goal attempt and likely would’ve been leading at halftime – rather than trailing 7-6 – had it not muffed a punt, settled for a red zone field goal and fumbled in plus territory with 10 seconds remaining.
It was a marquee win for coach Mike Elko’s squad, which was one of the best turnarounds and best stories in the ACC last year with a 9-4 record.
Klubnik also had another near-interception off a tipped pass in the second quarter. And the Tigers’ vaunted defense had a number of busted coverages and missed tackles.
Those top-to-bottom struggles continued in the third quarter as Leonard evaded four Clemson defenders converging on him in the pocket and broke off a 44-yard touchdown run (Duke 13-7) and Clemson ended two drives inside Duke’s 10-yard line with no points.
The Tigers – who did get some rushing production from Shipley and top backup Phil Mafah in the second half – got down to Duke’s 1-yard line early in the third quarter before a run of penalties and fruitless plays forced a 23-yard field goal attempt by Gunn.
The Blue Devils blocked that attempt – their second of the day – and they stopped Clemson once again after another promising drive when Klubnik botched a handoff to Shipley and Duke fell on the ensuing fumble at the 10-yard line.
Clemson, stunningly, made it three consecutive drives inside Duke’s 10-yard line with zero points when Mafah fumbled the ball on another botched exchange to start the fourth quarter and Blue Devils safety Jaylen Stinson returned it 57 yards past midfield.
The Blue Devils went up two touchdowns on Jaquez Moore’s nine-yard touchdown rush and Leonard’s subsequent 2-point conversion pass with 10:33 remaining in the game. Jordan Waters added a 36-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter for good measure.
Clemson’s offense was particularly listless in the second half despite strong individual efforts from Shipley and slot receiver Antonio Williams. The Tigers’ six drives of the half, in order: blocked field goal, fumble, fumble, turnover on downs, interception, turnover on downs.
Clemson has now lost back-to-back games dating back to the 2022 Orange Bowl, a 31-14 loss to Tennessee that prompted Swinney to fire former offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter.
Next Clemson game
Who: Clemson (0-0) vs. Charleston Southern (1-0)
When: 2:15 p.m. Saturday
Where: Memorial Stadium in Clemson
Watch: ACC Network
