Leonard, Duke topple No. 9 Clemson in opener

By Brian Murphy, WRAL

Durham, N.C. — A nationally televised primetime victory over the ACC's top program is one way to elevate your program.

Duke defeated ninth-ranked Clemson 28-7 on Labor Day night at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, outscoring the Tigers 22-0 in the second half making good on second-year coach Mike Elko's off-season goal to "elevate" the Duke program beyond last year's surprising success.

Now Elko and the Blue Devils have a signature victory to validate what he's been preaching all along in Durham.

"It's important on the outside because, I think, it makes people believe a little bit more in what we've been saying," Elko said of the win, televised on ESPN. "We've been saying internally is this is what Duke football is capable of. We've never ever wavered from that at all. I think what it says now on the outside is they get a little validation that it's possible."

It was the Blue Devils' first victory against an AP top-10 team since 1989 and it set off the type of celebration that is uncommon around Duke football.

Students charged onto the field after Duke's final kneel down.

"To see them rewarded, getting to storm the field, that’s a moment and a memory," said Elko, who has prioritized getting students, known for their fervent support for the men's basketball program, involved in football.. "That’s what college football on Saturdays should be."

Neither team was perfect, but the Blue Devils (1-0, 1-0 in the ACC) made more than enough plays. One of the biggest was a 44-yard touchdown run by quarterback Riley Leonard early in the third quarter to take the lead for good. Leonard broke a tackle in the backfield on the designed run and outraced a Clemson defensive back to the end zone.

Sixteen NFL teams had scouts or other personnel in attendance, many to get a glimpse of the 6-foot-4, 212-pound Leonard, who led Duke to a 9-4 mark in 2022. He finished with 175 yards passing and 98 yards rushing.

Leonard said he saw his friends and family painted for the game and celebrating in its aftermath.

"That's why you play, it's for those little moments," said Leonard, one of 17 returning starters on offense and defense for the Blue Devils. "It's not necessarily winning a football game, it's celebrating with your team and celebrating with your family and seeing all the smiles and joy on people's faces."

There was plenty of joy for those in blue — not so much for the majority of fans who wore orange. Duke outscored Clemson 22-0 in the second half, scoring on touchdowns runs by Leonard, Jaquez Moore (9 yards) and Jordan Waters (36 yards).

"That was really fun everybody," Duke athletic director Nina King said as she entered the post-game press conference.

Not so for the Clemson fans, who constituted the majority of the 31,638 at Wallace Wade Stadium. Many headed for the exits in the fourth quarter. This is not what they were expecting from a program that has won seven of the last eight ACC titles, including last season. Clemson was picked to win the ACC in the preseason.

"A huge, huge win for them," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. "They earned it. They deserved it. And an incredibly disappointing loss."

Clemson (0-1, 0-1) missed two short field goals, lost two fumbles inside the Duke 10, threw an interception and turned five trips inside the Duke 25 into just seven points.

Clemson had 422 yards of total offense, but Duke's defense made it tough their offense to score under new offensive coordinator Garrett Riley and quarterback Cade Klubnik.

Klubnik threw for 209 yards on 43 attempts with one interception and one touchdown. Running back Will Shipley rushed for 114 yards and had six catches for 29 yards, including Clemson's lone touchdown.

Clemson rushed for 213 yards. The Tigers had been 58-0 when passing for 200 and rushing for 200 in the same game under Swinney.

"You got to finish," Swinney said. "Obviously we did not do that."

Duke had two fumbles — a muffed punt in the second quarter that led to Clemson's only points of the night and a fumble inside the Clemson 10 late in the second quarter — that delayed, but did not stop, the Blue Devils' victory.

Clemson led 7-6 at halftime.

But Duke's players and coaches, who pointed out that while Clemson routinely plays in high-profile games many Blue Devils had never played in such an affair, emerged from the first half confident they could compete with the Tigers.

"We didn't play too many top of the country teams last year," Leonard said. "So we didn't really know where we were compared to them. But when we got out on that field, we quickly realized we can hang with these guys. You see the (recruiting) stars and everything like that and so you're not sure, hey, man, are they going to be way faster, way stronger, way bigger than us. You get out there, you start to compete and go, oh, we really can do this.

"So when Elko came in at halftime, he just brought that message. If we execute and we play hard, we're going to win this football game."

Leonard's touchdown run put the Blue Devils back in the lead early in the half, and they never trailed again.

Duke had not beaten an AP Top 10 opponent since September 1989, when Steve Spurrier coached the Blue Devils past then-No. 7 Clemson. That Duke team won the ACC title.

Spurrier and the 1989 team were honored during a timeout in the second quarter. The Clemson fans, of which there were many at the game, booed Spurrier, who coached at rival South Carolina at the end of his career. Duke had lost 28 straight games to top-10 opponents.

It was the program's first win over Clemson since 2014.

It is Clemson's third loss in four games and fourth in its last seven games.

"We're not entitled to win," Swinney said. "We've got to go earn it."

Scoring summary

First quarter

Duke — Todd Pelino 22 field goal, 9:19, Drive: 10 plays, 57 yards, 3:26. Key plays: Riley Leonard had 18-yard completions to Sahmir Hagans and Jordan Moore. Duke 3, Clemson 0.

Second quarter

Duke — Pelino 42 field goal, 14:19. Drive: 7 plays, 40 yards, 3:34. Key play: Riley completed a 28-yard pass to Jaquez Moore to move into Clemson territory. Duke 6, Clemson 0.

Clemson — Will Shipley 2 pass from Cade Klubnik (Robert Gunn III kick), 10:09. Drive: 5 plays, 18 yards. Key play: Clemson recovered a fumble by punt returner Jalon Calhoun. Clemson 7, Duke 6.

Third quarter

Duke — Leonard 44 run (Pelino kick), 12:40. Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 2:20. Key play: On third-and-3, Leonard broke a tackle in the backfield and outraced a defensive back to the end zone. Duke 13, Clemson 7.

Fourth quarter

Duke — Jaquez Moore 9 run (Leonard pass to Calhoun), 10:33. Drive: 6 plays, 33 yards, 3:53. Duke 21, Clemson 7.

Duke — Jordan Waters 36 run (Pelino kick), 3:15. Drive: 4 plays, 49 yards, 1:46. Duke 28, Clemson 7.