EDITORIAL BY GRAYDON FOX

Overview:

On Saturday, November 17^th, the (7-3) Duke Blue Devils will be on the road to take on the (10-0) Clemson Tigers.

The Crowd:

The Crowd projects a final score of Clemson 41.0 – Duke 19.3 with an over/under of 60.4.

Lou Holtz and Mark May:

Lou is predicting a final score of Clemson 38 – Duke 17.

Mark is predicting a final score of Clemson 51 – Duke 16.

2018-19 Statistics (130 total teams):

Passing offense: Clemson 274.9 YPG > Duke 245.6 YPG

Rushing offense: Clemson 251.7 YPG > Duke 174.2 YPG

Scoring offense: Clemson 45.7 PPG > Duke 31.5 PPG

Scoring defense: Clemson 12.7 PPG > Duke 23.5 PPG

Passing defense: Clemson 171.3 YPG > Duke 193.7 YPG

Rushing defense: Clemson 82.3 YPG > Duke 212.0 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: Clemson -0.1 = Duke -0.1

Summary:

Duke is (7-3) with wins over Army, Northwestern, Baylor, North Carolina Central, Georgia Tech, Miami (FL), and North Carolina.  They were defeated by Virginia tech, Virginia, and Pittsburgh.  Duke is coming off a 42-35 win over North Carolina where they totaled 629 yards of total offense.  The Blue Devils rank 47^th in points per game (31.5) and 49^th in scoring defense (23.5 PPG).  Quarterback Daniel Jones has completed 61% of his passes for 1,948 yards with 16 touchdowns to 6 interceptions.  Running back Deon Jackson has rushed for 725 yards and 7 touchdowns on the season.  The Blue Devils’ defense ranks 32^nd against the pass (193.7 YPG) and 108^th against the run (212.0 YPG).  Duke has been up and down all year but they have no wins against ranked opponents and some puzzling losses.

Clemson is a perfect (10-0) with victories over Furman, Texas A&M, Georgia Southern, Syracuse, Wake Forest, #16 NC State, Florida State Louisville, and #17 Boston College.  Clemson’s defense was suffocating in their 27-7 win over #17 Boston College last week holding the Eagles to just 113 total yards of offense.  The Tigers rank 5^th in points per game (45.7) and 1^st in scoring defense (12.7 PPG).  Quarterback Trevor Lawrence has completed 66% of his passes for 1,844 yards with 19 touchdowns to 4 interceptions.  Running back Travis Etienne has rushed for the fourth most touchdowns in the country (15) to go along with his 1,076 yards.  The Tigers’ defense ranks 9^th against the pass (171.3 YPG) and 3^rd against the run (82.3 YPG).

Bottom Line:

The vaunted Clemson defense has been especially great over their last five games allowing 8.6 points per.  Clemson ranks third in the nation in sacks (36) and should be able to get pressure on Daniel Jones all game.  Duke has struggled to stop the run so I expect Travis Etienne to have a field day.

Clemson wins 42-17

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