Clemson finished off their in-conference play by beating Duke 35-6. It wasn’t always pretty, but the Tigers got the job done. 
The early story of the game was an injury to senior Hunter Renfrow. The wide receiver was honored before the game as a graduating member of the team, but sustained an apparent head injury while laying out for a catch. Early in the second quarter. He did not return. 
The other story was how close Duke played Clemson in the early going. The end of the first half saw Duke within eight points of the Tigers, down just 14-6. The Blue Devils certainly had chances for points. They drove down the field after forcing a Clemson punt, but could not convert inside the red zone. 
After a Clemson three-and-out on the ensuing offensive drive, Duke got the ball with great field position. Yet again, the Blue Devils failed to convert within 20 yards of the end zone and had to settle. 
Clemson looked anemic on offense through most of the first half. The injury to Renfrow didn’t help, but the rest of the receivers kept dropping passes all over the field. Renfrow, Amari Rodgers, Derion Kendrick and Justyn Ross all had drops. Ross made up for it in the second quarter by taking a catch all the way down to the four-yard line to set up Clemson’s first touchdown run by Tavien Feaster.
The most surprising thing about the offensive woes was how off Lawrence looked. He certainly wasn’t be helped by the pressure from Duke’s defense, but he lacked some anticipation on certain throws. 
It didn’t take too long for the offense to remember who they are. Just before the end of the first half, Ross caught a 19-yard touchdown to give the Tigers some breathing room. The drive went 68 yards in just over two minutes as the run started to pick up steam which gave Lawrence a little more time to throw.
After halftime, it was all Clemson all the time as the Tigers forced an immediate three-and-out and scored on a 27-yard Travis Etienne rush. The right side of the offensive line opened up a huge hole and a key block by wide receiver Tee Higgins downfield allowed Etienne to walk right in. 
Etienne added one more touchdown before the night was over which put him at 17 rushing touchdowns for the season. That ties him James Davis for most by a Tiger in one season. He will have a chance to break that record next week against South Carolina. 
Even when the offense struggles, the defense continued to impose its will. The Tigers tallied a total of nine pass breakups, four of which were at the line of scrimmage. Defensive end Clelin Ferrell recorded two sacks to increase his team-leading season total to 10.5 and safety Tanner Muse led the team with eight total tackles and a sack for himself. 
Opposing quarterback Daniel Jones completed 24 passes, but for only 158 yards and no scores. The coverage was excellent and kept Duke from making any gamebreaking plays. 
Chase Brice and the backup players were in halfway through the fourth quarter. Brice fumbled a handoff but picked it up and ran for a first down evading multiple tacklers. He would be a starter at most programs and provides incredible depth at the most important position for Clemson.
The Tigers last regular season game will be next Saturday at 7 p.m. in Death Valley against their in-state rival, the South Carolina Gamecocks. The ACC Championship has also been set and will feature Clemson playing against the University of Pittsburgh Panthers. Their last meeting ended in a 43-42 Clemson loss at home during the 2016 season.