Clemson football will host the Duke Blue Devils this Saturday. Here’s what a Duke expert had to say about the ACC matchup.
The Clemson football team will host the Duke Blue Devils Saturday night in Death Valley.
To prepare for the game, we reached out to our friends at Ball Durham to help breakdown Duke and what we should expect from the Blue Devils in the ACC matchup.
Here’s a look at our Q&A with Ball Durham Expert Kevin Connelly.
1. Duke has quietly had a solid season (7-3). What have you seen that you’ve liked from this team?
The biggest thing with this Duke team has been depth. They have lost so many player to injures on both sides of the ball and this year has proven that Head Coach David Cutcliffe has done a great job recruiting and truly building a team at Duke.
From having back up Quentin Harris fill in for Daniel Jones for two and a half weeks to having to plug a new defender in every week because of an injury, this Duke team as overcome a tremendous amount of adversity this season and to be 7-3 right now is remarkable.
2. Daniel Jones played really well against UNC and has had a great season. Is the key to the Blue Devils coming into this one and trying to pull off the upset?
To win in Death Valley you have to have many keys, but Daniel Jones having success on Saturday night is clearly a major factor for Duke if they want to win this game. In order for Jones to play well, the offensive line needs to play well, which has really been the weak spot of the Duke team this season. If the offensive line can somehow hold up against this amazing Clemson defensive line, that could open the door for a Blue Devil upset.
3. Who are some guys from Duke that we should keep our eyes on?
On the defensive side of the ball Duke will go as far as linebackers Joe Giles Harris and Ben Humphreys take them. The duo are roommates and are the clear leaders on the defensive side of the ball. I believe that they are both NFL caliber player and they are going to lay it all on the field Saturday night and they will be fired up and ready to go.
Offensively, it’s the Duke running backs, Brittain Brown hasn’t truly played since September 29, expect for getting two carries against Pittsburgh on October 27, but Deon Jackson has filled in tremendously in his place and if Duke wants to have any shot at pulling off this upset, they will need to have those two players running the ball effectively and winning the time of possession.
4. The spread opened up at 27 points and has actually rise. What are your thoughts there?
I clearly expected Clemson to be a big time favorite in this game, especially on a Saturday night at home, but Duke has been outstanding at covering the spread as an underdog, even with a few outright wins. While an outright win might be too bold to predict, I do think Duke can cover the 27 point spread, maybe not for the entire game but possibly a backdoor spread at the end of the game.
We’d like to thank Kevin for his time and make sure to visit Ball Durham for complete coverage of Duke Athletics. Also, be on the lookout for our Q&A breaking down Clemson with Ball Durham.