A 2-point conversion by the Duke Blue Devils in the final minute of the game stunned the Clemson Tigers at Memorial Stadium, winning 46-45 on Saturday afternoon.
Duke used a four-minute drive to march down the field, converting two fourth downs to get into the end zone on a 3-yard rushing touchdown from tailback Nate Sheppard.
The Blue Devils then went for two and converted, gaining the lead with under a minute to go.
It came down to a 40-second drive for the Tigers to try to thwart the Blue Devils’ plans of a chance to make the ACC Championship. Penalties and strong defense disallowed a potential late comeback with the team running out of time, spiraling Clemson to two games under .500.
In quarterback Cade Klubnik’s first game back from injury, the Tigers amassed 545 yards of offense, but it wasn’t enough for the Tigers, 3-5, 2-4, to get their first win over a Power Four opponent in over a year.
Simply put, Clemson couldn’t stop Duke on offense. The Blue Devils totaled 439 yards of offense, including 361 through the air. Quarterback Darian Mensah threw four touchdowns on a Tiger secondary that struggled to get stops when it mattered most.
Duke converted every fourth down it faced, going 5-for-5 on fourth downs to continue moving the chains.
The Tigers used a 21-point second quarter to level with the Blue Devils going into the break. All of those drives went to the goal line, finished off by two runs by Adam Randall and a passing touchdown to Antonio Williams.
Again, the defense couldn’t hold the Blue Devils from scoring, with Mensah hitting receiver Que’Sean Brown for a 43-yard score.
The ACC foes continued to trade blows throughout the second half. After a punch-in by defensive tackle Peter Woods on the jumbo package, Duke kick returner Sahmir Hagans returned the kickoff to immediately give Clemson the ball back.
Clemson’s run game was the catalyst for the strong offense during the remainder of the contest. Randall finished with 89 yards and two touchdowns, while freshman Gideon Davidson finished with a career-high 51 yards in the loss.
The Tigers averaged 7.8 yards per play, yet were unable to win the game.
Klubnik did all he could for the win, throwing for 385 yards and two touchdowns, with receivers Williams and T.J. Moore catching the touchdown passes.
Williams finished with two, one on the ground and one through the air, on top of 10 receptions and 161 total yards. Moore used a 75-yard screen pass to give Clemson back the lead with 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers dominated the time of possession, the total yards and the penalties, but they were unable to come out with a win through poor defense.
Clemson will remain at home next weekend, hosting the Florida State Seminoles at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
