Duke wins shootout at Clemson
CLEMSON, S.C. – Duke’s offense looked unstoppable to start Saturday’s game at Clemson. Duke’s defense couldn’t get a stop for a swath of the game.
It all came down to Duke’s nemesis: Two snaps from inside the 5-yard line.
Touchdown, Nate Sheppard.
Two-point conversion, Darian Mensah to Sahmir Hagans.
Duke snatched a 46-45 win at Clemson on Saturday at Memorial Stadium, getting a 94-yard drive in the last five minutes and scoring with 40 seconds left.
Clemson took a 45-38 lead with 10½ minutes left. That came on a 75-yard screen pass, the first play of a possession after Todd Pelino tied the game at 38-38 with a field goal.
T.J. Moore went 75 yards untouched to give the Tigers the lead.
Duke (5-3, 4-1 ACC) got one first down and punted on its next possession. The Blue Devils got a defensive stop, but their next possession — starting with 5:19 left — started at their own 6-yard line.
Clemson scored a third-quarter touchdown to take the lead in the third quarter. It was short-lived, as Sahmir Hagans returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown.
Duke had three fourth-down conversions and two touchdowns before it had its first third-down conversion.
The Blue Devils’ first drive started near midfield after a Clemson three-and-out. They needed two fourth-down conversions, both throws to Barkate, before Que’Sean Brown’s 19-yard acrobatic touchdown grab.
Clemson tied the game on Antonio Williams’ 5-yard jet sweep. That was after he had a 64-yard catch down the middle on a coverage bust.
It took Duke two plays to answer. Mensah hit a wide-open Barkate for a 77-yard touchdown. That came with Aveion Terrell, Clemson’s star cornerback, biting on a fake.
On the penultimate play of the first quarter, Mensah hit Andrel Anthony in the middle of the field for a 20-yard touchdown, converting a third-and-7.
Until the end of the second quarter, that was the last positive for Duke.
Clemson scored 21 straight points to take a 28-21 lead. The first score was a 4-yard pass to Williams, wide open because of a miscommunication. The Tigers pounded their next two drives down the field with a bevy of rushes. Both of them were finished by 2-yard scoring runs by Adam Randall.
Duke sent the game to halftime tied with Brown’s second touchdown, a 43-yard pass down the middle of the field. For the seventh straight game, the Blue Devils scored a touchdown in the last two minutes of the first half.
