Welcome to the 2023 college football season! The Tigers are coming off another ACC Championship and double-digit win season, but the way it ended left a bad taste in the mouths of Clemson fans, losing 2 out of the last 3. The worst of it was watching the Gamecocks come from behind and capitalize off the Tigers' turnovers to win by one point, snapping the nation's longest home win streak AND robbing the Tigers of a return to the playoff. About 95 percent of fan bases would be absolutely thrilled with 11 wins and a conference title, but missing the playoffs for two straight years isn't something Clemson fans are accustomed to. Throw in the offseason firing of Brandon Streeter, the whirlwind of conference realignment, the hiring of new offensive coordinator Garrett Riley from TCU, and it's been quite the eventful offseason.
Thank goodness talking season is over and the season opener is upon us! For the fourth straight year, the Tigers open the season away from home. This time, they will be in Durham, NC in primetime on Labor Day night to play Duke on the road for the first time since 2012. There are several unknowns going into this game, and there will be much hype as well. Like every opponent Clemson faces, Duke has put a lot of focus and energy into this game like it's their Super Bowl, but they have had months of preparation for the Tigers instead of just a week like most teams. One might think it's basketball season for as much excitement will be on the Duke campus leading up to this game. Certainly, it will be more than they're used to with the Tigers coming to town for the first time in over 10 years.
Duke returns 17 starters this season, including quarterback Riley Leonard who accounted for 3,500 yards and 33 touchdowns en route to a 9-4 season for the Blue Devils. Mike Elko is the reigning ACC Coach of the Year, and the excitement surrounding this team is something Duke hasn't seen on the gridiron in quite some time. Leonard is a dual-threat quarterback who did everything that was asked of him last season, and he delivered. He gets all of his main targets back, including super senior Jalon Calhoun, who is the best of the bunch,
Look for the running backs to add additional strength to the offense as well. Jordan Waters returns along with the top backs, and they have a veteran line to run behind. Led by All-ACC tackle Graham Barton, the Devils allowed the fewest sacks in the ACC last season. Between the passing and running game, Duke's offense should be explosive.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Blue Devils went from being totally miserable to better than anyone could have ever imagined. Mike Elko is a defensive guru, and last year it showed. The biggest improvement on the defensive side was getting to the football and making things happen. They locked down the run, were good enough against the average passers and forced a lot of turnovers. The defense was very aggressive, and with the returners on that side of the ball, look for the aggressiveness to be taken to another level.
Clemson is used to this spotlight. The casual fan might think this game should be a walk in the park for the Tigers, but think again. It is no secret that the Tigers' offense has fallen short of expectations over the past two seasons, and hence the two-year playoff drought. In all honesty, there have been a variety of reasons for the offensive struggles over the past two years, including injuries, youth and turnovers. But most fans pin it all on the inconsistent quarterback play of DJ, which was only magnified by the fact that he was following an unprecedented run of quarterbacks from Tajh Boyd to Deshaun Watson to Trevor Lawrence. Well, fair or unfair, the DJ era is over as he tries to resurrect his reputation at Oregon State with a top-20 team, and the Cade Klubnik era is set to begin in earnest. There is just a sample size of Klubnik. We got a glimpse at the end of the 4th quarter against Georgia Tech with a 10-play, 66-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Will Taylor. In the ACC Championship game against UNC, Klubnik was brilliant, completing 20 of 24 passes for 279 yards and a TD pass and TD run in a 39-10 victory, earning him MVP honors. In his first career start, however, in the Orange Bowl versus Tennessee, Klubnik looked like a true freshman.
The Tigers return 15 starters: 7 on offense and 8 on defense. On the offensive side of the ball, Shipley and Mafah return to provide Cade with a potent running game. On the outside, they have Collins, Randall, Williams and Turner. The biggest production should come from the offensive line with 4 returning starters. The biggest question is going to be how quickly the offense grasps Garrett Riley's scheme in his first season as the Tigers' Offensive Coordinator.
On the defensive side of the ball, Wes Goodwin welcomes back 8 starters, including the entire backfield. Returning starters Jeremiah Trotter, Barrett Carter and Tyler Davis will anchor that defense. The guy to watch for is freshman phenom Peter Woods, who will be a co-starter at DT. He has all the traits to make an immediate impact similar to what we saw from Christian Wilkins and Dex Lawrence on the defensive line. Dabo has been high on him since he walked on to campus, and he has yet to disappoint. Xavier Thomas will be another guy to watch on that line. For the first time in what seems like forever, Thomas is finally healthy and in the best shape he's been, now entering his sixth season in the program. He looks to be unblockable!
What to expect on Monday night
Duke is a better team than most people realize, and his game can honestly go either way. You never know what can happen in a first game with no preseason, and this will be on the road with an amped-up crowd and a Duke team that wants to make its mark with a signature program win for its new head coach. Duke has to be careful, though. How many times have we seen teams put all their energy into a certain game, and a loss affects the rest of the season? I can think back to 2006 when Clemson came down the Hill in all purple against Georgia Tech with ESPN GameDay on campus for the first time. The Tigers impressively blew out the Jackets, only to lose 4 of their next 5 games, including a bowl loss to Kentucky, to end the season. That is what Duke will face with the hype leading up to this game. Duke is going to score some points, and the defense of the Tigers will get tested early.
The Tigers' offense will be eager to show the rest of the world that the Garrett Riley effect is going to be at an all-time high. Look for the Tigers to struggle early before they settle down and get into a rhythm. The defense will carry this team throughout the first half and keep the game within reach. Dabo likes to win the "middle eight," or the last four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half. That was prevalent in the Florida State game last season.
Duke is going to come out and jump on the Tigers early, riding their emotion, but the one thing that will prevail is the depth and experience of the Tigers. I have said this game could be a blowout or the Tigers start to pull away late in the 3rd and 4th quarter. I am going with the latter. The Tigers have sometimes started slow to start the season, and that trend will continue on Monday, but the Tigers win by a couple scores.
Clemson 34
Duke 23
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