Duke vs. Clemson: Quarter-by-quarter summary

Fourth Quarter (Clemson 56, Duke 20): With the game well out of hand, Clemson’s second stringers took the field for the final quarter and opened with a touchdown. The Tigers continued to play conservatively on offense by running the ball. Sophomore Anthony Boone took over the quarterback the duties for the Blue Devils, but he was unsuccessful in mustering any sort of sustained drive for the Blue Devils.

Third Quarter (Clemson 49, Duke 20): In stark contrast to the first half, the third quarter was much slower, prompting a large portion of the stadium to empty out. Clemson reverted to its ground game for much of the quarter, hoping to eat some clock. Duke, meanwhile, struggled to get into any kind of rhythm offensively for much of the quarter, punting on its first two possessions. A short touchdown run by Clemson running back D.J. Howard made the score 49-17. Martin drilled another field goal for Duke to cut the deficit to 29.

Second Quarter (Clemson 42, Duke 17): To open the second quarter, Renfree connected with Crowder for a gain of 37-yards to set up a 17-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Connette to David Reeves. The score cut the Tigers' lead to 11 points. Committing his its first miscue of the night, Clemson’s offense gave the ball back to Duke on its next possession due to a fumble by Hopkins, who was stripped by Blue Devil defensive back Walt Canty. Duke’s Jonathan Woodruff recovered the loose ball, but the Blue Devils were unable to capitalize on the opportunity, going three-and-out. The Tigers followed by doing what they have been successful doing all night—burning the Duke defensive backs. Boyd threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Martavis Bryant, giving him his second-consecutive game with five first-half touchdown passes.

Canty delivered for the Duke defense again later in quarter when he intercepted Boyd, but the offense squandered a second opportunity to convert a Clemson turnover into points. Then, the Tigers' offense marched down the field for another touchdown, extending its lead to 42-17.

First Quarter (Clemson 28, Duke 10): The first quarter was a high-scoring affair, highlighted by several big plays. The Blue Devil secondary was unable to keep Clemson’s dynamic receiving corps in front them during the opening quarter. Tigers’ wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins caught three touchdown passes, two of which came on long bombs of 58 and 45 yards, respectively. In the closing minute of the half, Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd hooked up with wide receiver Sammy Watkins for a 30-yard touchdown.

The Duke offense has shown the ability to move the football down the field both on the ground and through the air in the first quarter. Quarterback Sean Renfree delivered a career-long 77-yard strike to wide receiver Jamison Crowder for Duke’s only touchdown of the game so far. Running back Josh Snead has 25 yards rushing on just two attempts.