The unranked Duke Blue Devils defeated No. 9 Clemson Tigers, 28-7, in Durham, North Carolina, Monday night. The Tigers made several mistakes, but the worst was sophomore quarterback Cade Klubnik's first-and-goal handoff to Phil Mafah, which Jaylen Stinson scooped up and ran toward the end zone
Klubnik took Stinson down at Clemson's 33-yard line, but Duke made them pay six plays later.After going for two, Riley Leonard found Jalon Calhoun to make it 21-7 after Jaquez Moore ran nine yards into the end zone. First-quarter Tigers' mistakes began when Wesley Williams blocked Robert Gunn III's 41-yard field goal to keep the Blue Devils ahead 3-0.
Gunn's 23-yard field goal miss in the second half would have kept Duke ahead 13-10. Later in the third quarter, Klubnik fumbled on Duke's 7-yard line, which Jeremiah Lewis recovered to prevent Clemson. A Calhoun fumble on a punt return led to Clemson's first touchdown in the second quarter. Moore also fumbled on the 12th play of a strong first-half drive, which Clemson recovered. Leonard and the Blue Devils' offense hurt the Tigers in the second half despite the problems.
Leonard's 44-yard touchdown run to start the third quarter gave Duke the lead back at 13-7. Leonard completed 17 of 33 for 175 yards. However, he led the Blue Devils with 98 rush yards and a touchdown on eight attempts. A pivotal fourth-and-7 call in the fourth quarter when Clemson had possession was also intriguing. Klubnik scrambled for the first down and slid with the Blue Devils' defense running toward him, thinking he had enough yardage.
Klubnik was deemed behind the first down marker, but senior linebacker Cam Dillon was called for obvious targeting by crashing his helmet into his while sliding. Since targeting constitutes a dead ball foul, Duke got the ball despite Klubnik not obtaining enough yards for the first down.
The Blue Devils didn't lose that turnover, but they recovered when Clemson grabbed the ball. A Klubnik tipped ball found Dorian Mausi, and Waters' 36-yard touchdown run capped Duke's rout.
After the touchdown, the home crowd went wild and Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney couldn't believe his eyes as his Tigers started the season 0-1. After the game, Duke fans flooded Brooks Field to celebrate their biggest win against Clemson since 1936.
Waters ran for 63 yards on 11 attempts and scored a touchdown, collecting three passes for a team-leading 46 yards. In his Clemson starter debut, Klubnik went 27 for 43 for 209 yards with a score and an interception. Tigers' Will Shipley ran for 114 yards and caught Klubnik's touchdown pass for 29 yards on six catches.