The last time the football team saw Rahim Abdullah, he was taking an interception 63 yards for the touchdown that sealed Clemson's 29-20 overtime victory over Duke last November.
Abdullah, now a junior, racked up 11 tackles in last year's game, including a sack in overtime. He was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance.
But while Abdullah said that last year's game against Duke was his best of the regular season, that won't give him any extra confidence going into Saturday's rematch in Durham.
"I don't think last year gives me any special advantage," he said. "This is a completely different Duke team. We're just going to have to come out and get the job done."
The Tigers finished last season with a 7-5 record, including an appearance in the Peach Bowl against Auburn. Abdullah was named the team MVP in the 21-17 loss, after blocking two punts and picking up one sack.
This year has been a different story. Clemson enters Saturday's game having fallen to 2-5 after a 48-0 loss to Florida State. The Tigers have to win all their remaining games if they are to have any chance of receiving a bowl bid.
Clemson graduated six offensive starters and entered the '98 campaign ranked only 61st by Sports Illustrated. But Abdullah refused to describe this season as a rebuilding year.
"We lost a lot of people last year," he said. "But I think this team plays much better as a unit. We had some great seniors coming back. Before the season, I don't think anyone here thought this team would be 2-5 at this point. I expected to do better this season."
The front seven for the Clemson defense has been one of the few bright spots for this otherwise disappointing team. It leads the ACC in sacks with 24. Abdullah has been a key contributor with 51 tackles, good for third on the team. He is also second with eight tackles for a loss. In last Saturday's game against the sixth-ranked Seminoles, Abdullah had 15 tackles in perhaps the best performance of his college career.
Unlike its front seven, Clemson's secondary has struggled this season. Florida State and Virginia burned the Tigers for 312 and 310 yards passing, respectively. This leaves Clemson concerned about facing Duke's complicated passing attack.
"Duke uses a wide variety a passing formations," Abdullah said. "We are really going to have to remain focused to stop them from throwing.
"We never have any problems with the run. We just have to stop the pass and force three-and-outs. I don't want to see us get tired out-that's when we start to have problems."
Abdullah has other concerns besides the Duke game. At 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds, he has the size to play in the NFL, and his athleticism, including a 35-inch vertical leap, has drawn the attention of scouts. Lindy's Sports Annual rates him as the sixth-best outside linebacker in college football. But despite the poor performance of this year's team, Abdullah does not want to start thinking about the future.
"Losing has been tough," he said. "But it's always going to be tough. I don't want to look past the season. This season is not over yet, we have a lot of games left. Like everyone else on the team my only focus is on finishing the season strong."
Even though this year's team has not played up to the level of the '97 squad, Abdullah remained optimistic about the Tigers' chances to rebound next season.
"I think that next year's team is going to be really strong," Abdullah said. "We are going to lose some people, which is going to be tough. But I think that we have a lot of young talent coming back. These guys will have benefited a lot from all the time they got this season."
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