It’s never an easy task for Duke to come into Death Valley and try to sneak out of Clemson with a victory, but it definitely not going to be easy when the Blue Devils visit Memorial Stadium on Nov. 15.
According to our projections, the Tigers will enter this game fresh off their first loss of the season to Florida State. Now out of the national championship race, Clemson will turn its attention to winning its first ACC title in 17 years. With the loss to the ’Noles Clemson cannot afford to slip up and lose to a team it shouldn’t – which has been a trademark under head coach Tommy Bowden.
Duke, which will be much improved under new head coach David Cutcliffe, will have the Tigers’ full attention especially considering we project the Blue Devils to have at least four wins, including two possible ACC wins under their belt when this game rolls around.
“As a player we have to change the way we think,”
Duke wide receiver Eron Riley said. “Just because there is a coaching change doesn’t mean things will automatically change. We as players have to change to. Nothing will change unless the players’ attitude changes to.”
Remember, Duke enters the 2008 season on a 25-game ACC losing streak, dating back to their 2004 victory over the Tigers in Durham.
Clemson’s offense vs. Duke’s defense
After playing four straight games against quality defenses, the Clemson offense will be looking forward to this match-up. While the Blue Devils do return 10 starters from last season, the bad news is that those 10 starters were part of a group which ranked last in the ACC in total defense (424.3 yards a game) and scoring defense (33.2 points per game). The primary concern is overall depth, especially in the secondary and that’s where the Tigers might find most of their success.
It isn’t all bad, though. The linebacking corps is pretty solid with Michael Tauiliili and Vincent Ray, while the defensive line is lead by an emerging star in Vince Oghobaase. However, there isn’t enough depth to slow Clemson’s overall team speed and skill down.
Clemson’s defense vs. Duke’s offense
Quarterback Thaddeus Lewis and Riley, who led the ACC with a 20.8 yards per catch average and was second in the conference in receiving touchdowns with nine, gives Cutcliffe some pretty decent weapons to work with. Lewis should definitely shine under Cutcliffe, who groomed both the Manning brothers – Peyton at Tennessee and Eli at Ole Miss – into future NFL stars.
Riley gives Cutcliffe the big play receivers he needs to make is offense work. Against Navy last season, he scored four touchdowns and finished the afternoon with six catches for 235 yards.
“As a receiver, you want the ball a lot so I really like this offense,”
Riley said. “But you have to put the team above yourself and I think this offense will make all of us better. I hope it’s successful.”
The key to that success will be the offensive line, which right now is a glaring weakness. Though there is some talent, there isn’t much depth, which will hurt them when they bang around with bigger and faster defensive fronts such as Clemson’s. This was a main reason why Duke gained just 768 (64.0) yards on the ground in 2007.
Special teams
Cutcliffe is hoping freshman kicker Paul Asack can come in and turn things around after the Blue Devils were just 3-of-10 on field goals last year. Remember special teams played a big role in Clemson scoring 16 points in 39 seconds against Duke last year, including C.J. Spiller’s 84-yard return on a free kick.
The overview
The Blue Devils have not beaten Clemson in Death Valley since 1980 (0-13) and have been beaten by an average of 25.5 points a game. Though Duke will be more competitive, it’s hard to imagine the results being any different. Clemson is clearly far-and-above better than the Blue Devils at every position. Duke will be unable to stop James Davis and Spiller, while guys like Aaron Kelly, Tyler Grisham and Jacoby Ford should have a field day against an inexperienced secondary. Defensively, the Tigers will be too strong, though Duke will probably have a little more success offensively in this game than defensively.
Prediction
Clemson 45, Duke 17
Tomorrow: A breakdown of the Nov. 22 game at Virginia.
