Riley Leonard after win over Clemson: 'God is good and so is our defense'
The final game in Week 1 of the college football season did not disappoint, as Duke pulled off the home upset and defeated No. 9 Clemson 28-7. The matchup was a close one throughout, but the Blue Devils were dominant on both sides of the ball in the second half outscoring the Tigers 22-0 on their way to their first victory over Clemson since 2004.
Duke quarterback Riley Leonard joined the set of ACC Network shortly after the big win and was asked what the environment after the game felt like as Wallace Wade Stadium was in prime form, delivering a classic one-liner that credited two things.
“Kind of at a loss of words right now, but God is good and so is our defense,” Leonard said.
Duke’s defense did show out, allowing just one touchdown in the second quarter then proceeding to hold the Tigers scoreless for the rest of the night. They played with high energy and effort throughout, and were rewarded in many ways.
The Blue Devils put a premium on keeping the Tigers out of the end zone and when Clemson did resort to kicking field goals, that went Duke’s way as well, with Wesley Williams getting a hand on both of freshman kicker Robert Gunn‘s field goal attempts to keep Clemson off of the scoreboard.
Duke also forced three turnovers on the night, intercepting Cade Klubnik in his first game in new offensive coordinator Garrett Riley‘s new offensive scheme and recovering two fumbles. All three turnovers occurred in the second half, and the fumbles happened on back to back drives in the red zone with the Tigers just on the doorstep of potentially scoring.
There’s no doubt that Clemson had their fair share of self inflicted wounds and mistakes on Monday, which the Duke offense capitalized on starting with Leonard.
Leonard threw for 175 yards and rushed for 98 yards, which included an impressive 44-yard touchdown run on the very first drive of the second half to extend Duke’s lead to 13-7. And credit must be given to the Duke Blue Devils offense line, who kept Leonard’s jersey clean all night by allowing zero sacks against a Clemson team that 40 a season ago.
The last time Duke defeated a top-10-ranked opponent was in 1989 when they defeated a No. 7 ranked Clemson team under head coach Steve Spurrier, as the Blue Devils will look to keep their historic momentum going next week when they face Lafayette.