CLEMSON, S.C. -- In a game reminiscent of last year's blowout, Duke suffered its 23rd consecutive loss at the hands of the Clemson Tigers 59-31. The loss in front of 55,000 faithful at Death Valley Stadium in Clemson gives Duke back-to-back winless seasons and lots of room for improvement this spring. This ties Duke with Northwestern (1980-81) for the seventh-longest losing streak in NCAA history.
The game was highlighted by the incredible play of Clemson quarterback Woodrow Dantzler. Going into the game needing just 131 rushing yards to become the first NCAA player in history to pass for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a season, Dantzler broke the mark in the third quarter with a play Duke has become a little too familiar with. A busted play turned into Dantzler-time as he reversed fields and out-raced everyone to the endzone.
"I think the offensive line wanted [the record] more than I did," Dantzler said. "It was great to have everybody pulling for me. It's not all me. I've had boys fighting and pulling for me the entire season. It was a total team effort."
Like last season, Duke just could not contain Dantzler. Although he did not break off any especially long runs, the preseason Heisman Trophy candidate consistently spun out of would-be Duke tacklers en route to his 135 yards on the ground. Dantzler also threw
"Our team showed tremendous resolve today to play as hard as we did for the entire year," Duke coach Carl Franks said. "It's tough to go through something like this, but our players came to practice everyday with enthusiasm and tried to play as hard as they could. Clemson had a little bit better athletes, a little bit better speed, and hit the big plays. But, we still had opportunities to keep the game closer than it was but we weren't able to do so."
Duke began the game like it has many times this season: a well-executed game plan leading to the first score of the game. Aware of Clemson's secondary problems all year long, quarterback D. Bryant immediately took to the air on Duke's opening possession. Bryant first connected with TE Ben Erdeljac on a 70-yard catch, then found Khary Sharpe running open in the endzone.
But Clemson responded with a quick-hit of its own, going 80 yards in four plays by exploiting Duke's own secondary weaknesses. After another Clemson score, the teams traded a pair of field goals before Clemson put the game away with five straight touchdowns.
Duke's game plan was apparent from the opening drive, as the Blue Devils' wide receivers repeatedly used their
After a Khary Sharpe drop in the back of the endzone, Bryant threw into triple coverage and was intercepted by Clemson's Kevin Johnson. The busted drive was the first of three consecutive Duke drives deep into Clemson territory that netted no points. Later in the quarter, Garber missed a 37-yard field goal attempt, and Duke afterwards failed on a fourth-and-seven from Clemson's 26 yard-line.
"It was a frustrating game offensively," Franks said. "We didn't do nearly as much as we were capable of doing. We knew we had to do a lot more because Clemson had the ability to put a lot of points on the board."
Clemson then took over in the second half, controlling the ball possession and playing for the record books. Limited to just 120 yards of total offense in the second half, Duke responded late with three touchdowns to make the score respectable. Bryant ended the game with 283 yards passing and two touchdowns, one each to receivers Sharpe and Kyle Moore, the first touchdowns in the careers of each player.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.