Duke blows out Clemson thanks to Tigers’ red zone failures

The No. 9 Clemson Tigers were manhandled by the unranked Duke Blue Devils 28-7 on Monday night at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.

Is Clemsoning back? If the red zone offense of a team projected to play for an ACC championship is any indication, it could be a very long season in South Carolina.

The Blue Devils closed as a 13-point underdog at DraftKings Sportsbook, but a bevy of blown opportunities by the favored Tigers gave them a chance to pull away for what could almost be called an easy win.

Cade Klubnik got his third career start, and for the first time was the unimpeachable starting quarterback for the Tigers with the transfer of DJ Uiagalelei. The five-star sophomore finished 27-43 for 209 with a touchdown pass and an interception that should have been caught by his receiver.

The biggest issue was the repeated issues cashing in scoring opportunities for the Tigers, who had two Robert Gunn III field goals blocked, and also fumbled twice inside the red zone.

Meanwhile the Blue Devils found plenty of success running the football against a vaunted defense. Quarterback Riley Leonard had eight carries for 98 yards, part of a total of 30 totes for 199 yards by Duke overall. Leonard also finished 17-33 for 175 yards passing.

And while storming the court at Cameron Indoor Stadium should basically never happen, you absolutely get to storm the field for this one, Dukies.