No. 7 Clemson Tigers come to Durham on the prowl

Watching Duke football this year has not been the prettiest thing, but in a season where it can't get much worse and any news must be good news, there is news. Now it gets worse. When the No. 7 Clemson Tigers roll into Wallace Wade Stadium tomorrow at noon, things might just get down right horrific. And you thought this was as bad as it gets. As if seeing the Blue Devils (0-4, 0-1 in the ACC) get outscored by more than 100 points in their last four games was not bad enough, they now have the luxury of facing a team who could score nearly 100 points on them in one game. To say this game will be a squashfest could be an understatement. So far this year, the Tigers (4-0, 2-0) have outscored their opponents 186-26. They also boast the nation's top-ranked offense and second-ranked defense, besides being tied for first in the ACC at 2-0. However, even with a team Duke coach Carl Franks would probably give his left pinky for, Clemson coach Tommy Bowden is not taking Duke lightly. "So far this season we have come to play every Saturday. Going to Duke this weekend we will see very quickly if we can do it again," he said. "If you look at the history of this game, you will see that we have not been very successful at Duke in past years. Over our last six trips, we have a 3-3 record against them and they have averaged 16 points per game. Given that track record, we had better be ready to play on Saturday." Aside from the looming problem of the Tigers, Duke also has to contend with having a new quarterback-D. Bryant or Bobby Campbell-starting the game in place of the injured Spencer Romine. Franks still hasn't chosen his starter for tomorrow and made no promises that he would do it much before kick off. He did say he wanted to assess both players and decide who he thought would best be able to lead his team. "I'd rather do it sooner so people can settle in and know who it is," he said. "Sometimes people don't do it to keep the other team guessing, but I don't think Clemson's too concerned about who our staring quarterback is." Truthfully, Clemson doesn't have too much at all to worry about tomorrow. Regardless of who Franks picks, the Tigers should have a field day with Duke's young, weak team. So far this year, Clemson has been led by the stellar offensive play of quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate Woodrow Danztler, who, when teaming with wide receiver and potential All-American Rod Gardner, has been lethal. Not only has Danztler thrown for seven touchdowns this year, he is also leading the ACC-as a quarterback-in rushing. On the other side of the ball, Clemson has been privy to the superb defense of linebacker Keith Adams, arguably the best in the country at his job. With 12.5 tackles per game, he has been eating the opposing line for lunch. Whomever Franks decides to play this week at quarterback should be prepared to run-a lot. Either way, regardless of what happens to Duke this weekend, the game should be a learning process. "I think our guys realize what we're setting out to do, and that is to improve our play each week," Franks said. "I think we learned that we can do that. It's a matter of focusing on the small battles we can win during the game and hopefully give us enough of an opportunity." One small battle Duke can probably win this week is special teams. Punter Brian Morton has been excellent for the Blue Devils and is on the verge of becoming the all-time ACC punt leader. Duke may be able to outplay Clemson's relatively untested special teams unit. However, chances of the Blue Devils pulling off an upset are pretty slim. They just want to go out there and play better than they have this year, because next game they face No. 2 Florida State in Tallahassee, Fla. "Now we get to the easy part of the schedule," senior defensive tackle Troy Austin jokingly said at a recent press conference.