Clemson Drops Shootout at Home

Clemson can’t seem to get any luck going its way, as it dropped a shootout at home to Duke 46-45. This gave the Tigers their third straight home loss. They have yet to beat a Power 4 conference opponent at home this season.

The right amount of energy was brought by the offense. The defensive secondary, on the other hand, struggled to hold its end. It was a back-and-forth battle between two explosive offenses and the quarterbacks who led them.

Cade Klubnik Battles Through Injury

Cade Klubnik made his return to the field, still not looking 100 percent. Klubnik had a clear limp as he attempted to move around, and did not have the same burst we’re accustomed to seeing from him. Despite not being himself, the senior quarterback hung tough and played until the very end. He completed 27 of his 36 pass attempts for 385 yards and two touchdowns. It took him and the offense a quarter to get going, but when they got hot, it was impressive. Three touchdowns in the second quarter helped the Tigers take the lead after being down 21-7.

The run game was crucial in getting the offense revved up. At the end of the first half, the Tigers had 145 total rushing yards. Adam Randall proved to be a workhorse, finishing the half with 15 carries for 93 yards and two touchdowns. This led to success through the air. Antonio Williams was the go-to receiver for the day. He caught 10 passes for 139 yards and a touchdown.

The offense gave its best performance of the year by far in this game. The blunders came on the final possession with poor clock management by Klubnik. However, the defense did not do the offense any favors throughout the game.

Darian Mensah Shines in Memorial Stadium

Darian Mensah was the man to flip the outcome on its head, and that makes sense. He controlled the game whenever he got the chance. The redshirt sophomore continues to impress in his first year playing at the Power 4 level. He made plays in critical situations that made Manny Diaz’s aggressive decision-making more than admirable.

Mensah continues to prove why he and the offense should be trusted. This unit converted every fourth down attempt. The fifth conversion extended Duke’s final scoring drive that won the game. In that same drive, Mensah threw a great ball to the flats for the two-point conversion to give the Blue Devils the one-point lead.

Mensah finished the game with 27 completed passes out of 41 attempts for 361 yards and four touchdowns. His performance on the road got the Blue Devils their second straight victory over the Tigers, and their first win in Memorial Stadium since 1980.

The Fall Continues for Clemson

The losses keep piling up for Dabo Swinney and his Clemson team. Taking another home loss, after a tough recruiting week, is not how the Tigers wanted to come out after their final bye week. They now have to win three of their next four games to be bowl eligible.

That is a far fall from where this team was expected to be three months ago. Clemson will have a chance to regroup next week in Tallahassee against a program in a similar position.