Clemson football needs to get the rushing attack going against the Duke Blue Devils. Here are the keys to a victory for the Tigers.
We’ve made it to the second-to-last Clemson football regular season game of the year.
It seems like just a couple of weeks ago, we were just getting going. Now, we’re in the midst of the championship phase of the season and the Tigers are two wins away from completing a perfect regular season.
This Saturday evening in Death Valley, we’ll see Clemson football take on the Duke Blue Devils in a game where the Tigers are heavily favored.
Here are our keys to the game for the Tigers.
Keys to the Game:
- Get the run-game going
Duke is ranked 107th in the nation in rushing defense. The Blue Devils are allowing 5 yards per carry. That’s just bad.
There’s only one team that is ranked lower than Duke that Clemson has played this season and that’s Louisville. And I think that should tell you something.
The Blue Devils give up a lot of yards and are gashed by the running game. This should be a matchup where Travis Etienne and Co. run the ball a lot and completely take control of the game early.
- Score early
Speaking of taking control of the game early, Clemson needs to score early. The only way Duke stays in the game is if the Tigers can’t get anything going offensively.
Daniel Jones and that Duke offense have a little bit of fire power, but it won’t be enough to do much against that Tiger defense. If the Clemson offense can’t get going, though, it could be a game in which Duke starts to build confidence as the night continues. The key for Clemson will be to score early and take the Blue Devils out of it not long after the first kickoff.
- Leave no doubt
Over the past few games, Clemson football has shown up looking to “leave no doubt.” As long as the Tigers show up with that kind of mindset in this one, they’ll have no trouble getting the job done.
Clemson is just the better team. The Tigers are deeper and more talented. It should be a game in which we see the Tigers take control early and leave no doubt in the first prime time home game of the season.