Duke Football: Previewing the Clemson Tigers with Rubbing the Rock

The Duke Football team will have their biggest challenge of the season on Saturday as they take on the Clemson Tigers in Death Valley.

Ahead of the Duke Blue Devils vs. the No. 2 Clemson Tigers on Saturday night in Death Valley at 7:00 pm on ESPN, the site experts at Ball Durham got a chance to talk with the site experts at Rubbing the Rock, the Clemson FanSided page, for a Q&A ahead of the game.

Q: Clemson hasn’t given up 17 points since September, what’s the best way to attack this tenacious Clemson defense?

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A: That’s a good question. This team has been dominant on the defensive side of the ball and that is a credit to that defensive line and the depth the Tigers have all across the field. Interestingly enough, Clemson’s starting defense hasn’t given up a touchdown since September. That’s how dominant they’ve been.

The best way to go about attacking this defense is to pass the ball and get the ball out quick. Daniel Jones is a very good example of what can work against the Tiger defense. If he can keep the Tigers honest enough through the ground game, he may be able to find some holes in Clemson’s coverage and keep drives alive.

The Tigers have been known at times to play a little bit softer coverage, but it only matters if the quarterback can get the ball out quick. This defensive line will create pressure and Jones will need to get the ball out to his playmakers for Duke to have success and sustain drives.

Q: If feels like Clemson has had some letdowns at home over the past few years, with a rivalry game against South Carolina coming up next week and the ACC Championship looming, could this possibly be a letdown spot for the Tigers?

A: From the outside-looking-in, you might think that. The reason I believe the answer to that question is “no” is two-folded, though.

First, today will be senior day. The Clemson football seniors would become the winningest class in school history and in ACC history with a victory Saturday in Death Valley. These senior have worked hard and I just don’t think they’re going to let the team come out flat in this one.

The second has to do with the veteran leadership. This team just seems different mentally from teams in the past. While Clemson teams in the past would show up just looking to get the win, this team seems set on “leaving no doubt.” That has been Dabo Swinney’s message to the team. They’ve come out with a purpose ever since that close game against Syracuse and just have put opponents away fairly quickly.

Q: It feels like we haven’t seen a true freshman take college football by storm like Trevor Lawrence is this season, is he this good or is he benefiting greatly from the outstanding Clemson rushing attack?

I think it’s a bit of both.

Trevor Lawrence has all the skills and measurables to be the first pick taken in a future NFL Draft. He has incredible arm talent and is very intelligent as well. He’s progressed as a leader over the last four or five games or so and that’s probably been the biggest improvement he’s had to make.

Lawrence is still working on perfecting the deep ball, but other than that he’s been pretty much perfect on his throws. Sometimes he holds the ball a bit too long, which you expect from a freshman quarterback, but he comes back the next time and makes up for it.

I do believe that Lawrence benefits from having some of the best wide receiver talent in the country to be able to throw the ball to, though. When you have guys like Tee Higgins, Justyn Ross, Amari Rodgers and Hunter Renfrow, it certainly makes your job as a quarterback much easier.

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