Closer, but not quite there yet.
For the first time this year, the football team played a close game in which a few big plays proved to be the difference. Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, a few missed connections between sophomore quarterback Matt Rader and Reco Owens and a fake field goal that fell one yard short led to a 13-6 Homecoming loss to Clemson on Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium.
"This is no moral victory, but we got our confidence back," Duke head coach Fred Goldsmith said. "Now we know we can play football again."
Duke (0-6, 0-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) was burned early on an 80-yard touchdown pass from Clemson's Nealon Greene to split end Tony Horne but kept the game close and entered the half only trailing 10-3.
And unlike previous contests this season against Northwestern and Navy in which the Blue Devils played close for 30 minutes, this time they came out in the second half ready to play.
On the first play of the third quarter, Rader just missed hooking up with an open Corey Thomas on a deep ball that had touchdown written all over it. But freshman Letavious Wilks proceeded to step up with a sweep for 12 yards and a reception for 16 that took Duke from its own 34 down to the Tigers' 17-yard line.
The Blue Devils were unable to move from there and settled for a 34-yard field goal by freshman Sims Lenhardt that cut Clemson's lead to 10-6.
"I think the second half was a big factor today because after last week [against Navy] we showed that we can play a good first half, but we came out last week in the second half and didn't execute at all," junior Jeff Hodrick said. "We came out today and showed we can put two halves together and put ourselves in position to win the game."
Both teams held defensively the rest of the third quarter until a 34-yard punt by Duke senior John Krueger gave Clemson the ball at the Blue Devil 46. Greene then engineered a drive with passes of 12 and 11 yards to Lamont Hall and Horne, respectively, that moved Clemson down to the nine-yard line as the third quarter ended.
"In the second half we wanted to pretty much try to come out and dominate the game," Clemson running back Raymond Priester said. "We tried to capitalize but they played us tough."
Duke indeed opened the final quarter with its biggest defensive play of the game. Facing third-and-seven from the Duke nine, Greene threw a pass in the left flat that junior Tawambi Settles intercepted at the five and brought back 14 yards to Duke's 19.
The Blue Devils came out on offense after Settles' interception and opened with a gutsy play call. Thomas, a wide receiver, ran a reverse for 38 yards down the left sideline all the way to the Clemson 43-yard line.
The run was the first of Thomas' career and had the 23,586 fans in attendance on their feet.
"It was a good call by them because it worked," Clemson head coach Tommy West said. "Our freshman had his eyes closed."
Though a holding penalty moved Duke back 10 yards, Rader completed a 10-yard pass to senior Marc Wilson, leaving the Blue Devils with a fourth-and-two at Clemson's 35.
With exactly 12 minutes left in the game, Goldsmith showed the same aggressiveness in play calling as he did with Thomas' reverse. Rader dropped back and threw a deep ball down the left sideline to Owens. Owens appeared to have the ball caught at the 12 but then slipped on the wet field and the ball fell harmlessly incomplete.
"Parts of the field were slippery, but on the catch I missed, it's just a play I have to make," Owens said. "I don't think slipping was the main reason I missed the ball. Slipping or not slipping, I still should've made the catch."
Owens would get a chance for redemption on Duke's next drive. After Clemson drove downfield and settled for a 35-yard Matt Padgett field goal, the Blue Devils had the ball back still within striking distance at 13-6.
Freshman Richmond Flowers returned the ensuing kickoff 30 yards to Duke's 35 and the Blue Devils still had 8:29 left to score. Rader's first pass was deep down the middle of the field and appeared as if it would be intercepted by cornerback Andy Ford.
But the ball slipped through Ford's hands and inexplicably into Wilson's for a 37-yard completion.
After two short gains, Duke faced a third-and-five at Clemson's 26. Rader again looked for Owens, who was open at the two. Again, Owens appeared to have a sure catch but lost his footing and couldn't hang on.
"I had my man beat, the ball was in the air and it was in there," Owens said. "I caught it but when I hit the ground, it came out."
Goldsmith sent Lenhardt out at the 6:46 mark to attempt a 43-yard field goal on fourth-and-five. Instead, Hodrick, the holder, took the ball and ran around the left corner looking for five yards. Clemson stopped him after picking up four.
"It's an option play," Goldsmith said. "Jeff did the right thing and Clemson just made a fantastic recovery. It was extra effort that saved the play. We had the play. The objective of the play was accomplished and their extra effort brought it up short."
From there, Duke only had possession one more time. With 2:39 left, Rader completed a pass to Hodrick for 13 yards to the Blue Devil 43. But Rader was sacked on the next play and then threw three straight incompletions to Thomas, effectively ending the game.
Clemson was in no mood to celebrate afterwards. Despite the win, the Tigers had 10 penalties and left their coach in a less than pleased mood.
"We've come a long way when we can't be excited about winning a football game," West said. "I'm really disappointed in some of the mistakes. You can't keep giving people opportunity after opportunity."
Early on, it appeared Clemson was not going to make any errors. The two teams played a scoreless first quarter but just 45 seconds into the second, Greene and Horne connected on an 80-yard touchdown pass that was the fifth-longest in Tiger history.
"Their slot receiver beat our guy," Goldsmith said. "It was one-on-one coverage there and he beat us on that play."
Trailing 7-0, the Blue Devils committed their only two turnovers of the day on the next two possessions. Junior Laymarr Marshall fumbled at the Clemson 20 after an impressive run and Rader threw an interception at Duke's own 30 that led to a Padgett field goal and 10-0 Clemson lead.
Duke rallied just before the half. Thomas caught a key 23-yard pass and the Blue Devils managed a 40-yard drive that culminated with Lenhardt kicking a career-long 47-yard field goal.
But it was Duke's inability to put the ball in the end zone that proved to be its downfall.
"This is probably the toughest loss I've ever had as a football player," freshman Chris Combs said. "I think we should've won the game.
"We have a lot of respect for Clemson, they've got a good team, but I really think a play here or there, and we really should've won."
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