Duke Blue Devils
Speaking of revenge games, this is one Clemson should want to get a win back in. The last time the Tigers played Duke, was in week one of the 2023 season in Durham. In that game, quarterback Riley Leonard could not be stopped. Leonard led the Blue Devils to the 28-7 victory in Cade Klubnik’s first game as the full-time starting quarterback for Clemson.
This time Duke will make the trip to Clemson, with a team that looks drastically different. Manny Diaz is now in his second year as the head coach of the program, after Mike Elko took the job at Texas A&M a year ago. He is 13-6 in his time in Durham, leading the Blue Devils to another nine win season in 2024.
His quarterback, Darian Mensah, is in his second season as the starter. Mensah is showing he has what it takes to be great at this level. He has a 69.8% completion percentage as he’s thrown for 1,838 yards, 15 touchdowns, and just 2 interceptions so far in 2025. The sophomore quarterback's throwing ability puts Duke second in total passing offense in the ACC, and 11th in the FBS.
The Blue Devils are also 4th in total offense in the conference, and 20th in the country, with an average of 467 total yards per game. The Duke offense is tough to stop, especially once Mensah gets into a rhythm. If the defense could match the offense, the Blue Devils could be a very dangerous team.