It has been such a disappointing season for our Clemson Tigers football team. Sitting at 3-4 on the season, a season that started out with such promise. C’est la vie, as they say in France, apparently.
A loss to a mediocre SMU Mustangs team two weeks ago was the last time we saw our Tigers on the field. The defense could not come up with a stop when they needed it most, and the offense took awhile to get going against the second worst pass defense in all of FBS.
The good news is the Tigers are back at home on Saturday. The bad news? They’re welcoming in the ACC’s leader in passing yards in Darian Mensah. And this is a good Duke team.
Here is a look at everything you will need to know about the Tiger’s Week 10 Opponent, the Duke Blue Devils:
Duke Blue Devils
School Location: Durham, North Carolina
Game Location: Clemson’s Memorial Stadium
Time: Noon; ACC Network
2025 Record – 4-3; (3-1 ACC)
Wins Against: Elon (45-17); NC State (45-33); Syracuse (38-3); Cal (45-21)
Losses against: Illinois (45-19); Tulane (34-27); Georgia Tech (28-17)
Head Coach: Manny Diaz – 2nd Season – Previous: Penn State DC
Coach Diaz has wasted no time putting his stamp on the Duke football program in his second season. The Blue Devils now play with a swagger that’s been missing since the Steve Spurrier glory days. His defense is fast, disciplined, and downright nasty, the kind of unit that punches you in the mouth and smiles about it. Offensively, Diaz has leaned into creativity, spreading the field and letting his athletes shine. But the biggest win? Culture. The man’s got his guys believing again, and that belief shows every Saturday in how hard Duke plays from kickoff to the final whistle. Diaz has Duke dangerous again.
Offense
Offensive Coordinator: Jonathan Brewer – 2nd year as OC – Previous: SMU Co-OC
Coach Brewer has quietly become one of the ACC’s sharpest offensive minds. Under his direction, Duke’s attack looks confident, balanced, and unpredictable. He’s taken a roster without a ton of household names and turned it into a unit that moves the chains with rhythm and creativity. Brewer’s play design mixes tempo, motion, and misdirection beautifully, keeping defenses guessing and quarterbacks comfortable. He’s maximized his personnel, using speed and spacing to open up the run game and create big-play opportunities. Simply put, Brewer’s offense hums with purpose. He’s proving Duke football can win games with brains just as much as brawn.
Duke has averaged 33.8 points their first seven games of the season (39th; Clemson is T-79th; 26.0 ppg) with 144.3 yards rushing per game (99th; Clemson is 112th) and 319.0 yards through the air (4th; Clemson: 21st) for a total of 463.3 yards of offense per game through seven games (18th; Clemson: 59th)
Here is a look at the projected starters for the Duke Blue Devils from their released depth chart as well as their 2025 statistics through seven games:
| Quarterback | Darian Mensah (Tulane) | RS Sophomore | #10 | 27 attempts, -61 net yards | 175-249, 70.2%, 2211 yds,17 TDs, 2 Ints |
| Running Back | Anderson Castle (App State) | Graduate | #4 | 53 attempts, 295 yds, 6 TDs | 12 catches, 81 yds. |
| Running Back | Nate Sheppard | Freshman | #20 | 71 attempts, 497 yds, 4 TDs | 18 catches, 132 yds, TD |
| Wide Receiver | Cooper Barkate (Harvard) | Junior | #18 | 39 catches, 647 yds, 4 TDs | |
| Wide Receiver | Que’Sean Brown | RS Sophomore | #7 | 31 catches, 443 yds, TD | |
| Wide Receiver | Sahmir Hagans | Graduate | #2 | 24 catches, 313 yds, 5 TDs | |
| Tight End | Jeremiah Hasley | RS Junioer | #85 | 10 catches, 82 yds | |
| Left Tackle | Bruno Fina | Graduate | #75 | ||
| Left Guard | Jordan Larsen (South Dakota) | RS Junior | #64 | ||
| Center | Matt Craycraft | RS Junior | #71 | ||
| Right Guard | Justin Pickett | Graduate | #77 | ||
| Right Tackle | Brian Parker II | RS Junior | #53 |
Defense
Defensive Coordinator: Jonathan Patke – 2nd Year – Previous: Texas State DC
Coach Jonathan Patke has turned Duke’s defense into a disciplined, relentless force. His fingerprints are all over the Blue Devils’ toughness and swagger on that side of the ball. Patke’s unit plays fast, tackles clean, and thrives on creating chaos, blitzes come from everywhere, and quarterbacks rarely get comfortable. He’s built a defense that bends schematically but never breaks mentally. The communication is sharp, the pursuit is fierce, and the fundamentals are rock-solid. Most importantly, Patke has his guys believing they can dominate anyone, anywhere. Duke’s defense doesn’t just play hard, it plays smart, as to be expected at Duke.
The Duke defense has given up 25.7 points through their seven games (82nd; Clemson: 37th). They have given up an average of 130.0 yards on the ground (T-46th; Clemson: 23rd) and 245.9 yards through the air (105th; Clemson: 78th). The Blue Devils are giving up a total of 375.9 yards thus far (78th; Clemson: 43rd).
Here is a look at the projected starters for Duke on defense along with stats from the their first six games:
| Vyper End | Vincent Anthony Jr. | Senior | #7 | 22 tackles, 3 TFLs, Sack |
| Nose Tackle | Aaron Hall | Graduate | #99 | 23 tackles, 6 TFLs, 1.5 Sacks |
| Defensive Tackle | Josiah Green (Dartmouth) | Graduate | #4 | 18 tackles, 3 TFLs, Sack |
| Defensive Tackle | Preston Watson | Sophomore | #95 | 10 tackles, 2 TFLs, 0.5 sack |
| Defensive End | Wesley Williams | RS Junior | #97 | 25 tackles, 5.5 TFLs, 2 Sacks, FR |
| Strongside Linebacker | Jaiden Francois (Utah St/UCF) | Graduate | #2 | 38 tackles, 3 TFLs, Sack |
| Middle Linebacker | Luke Mergott | RS Sophomore | #34 | 32 tackles, 4 TFLs |
| Weakside Linebacker | Tre Freeman | Graduate | #12 | 27 tackles, 3 TFLs, 0.5 Sack, Int |
| Cornerback | Chandler Rivers | Senior | #0 | 29 tackles, 2.5 TFL, Int |
| Rover | DaShawn Stone | RS Sophomore | #8 | 45 tackles, TFL, Int |
| Free Safety | Caleb Weaver (Sam Houston St) | Graduate | #3 | 50 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, 0.5 Sack, Int |
| Cornerback | Kimari Robinson | RS Sophomore | #5 | 22 tackles, TFL |
Special Teams
Here is a list of the specialists for the Blue Devils along with statistics from the 2025 Season:
| Kicker | Todd Pelino | Senior | #29 | 9-14; long of 47 yds |
| Kicker | Cosme Salas | RS Freshman | #39 | No attempts |
| Punter | Kade Reynoldson | Sophomore | #41 | 43 yd avg., long of 57 yds |
| Punt Returner | Que’Sean Brown | RS Sophomore | #7 | 15.5 yd avg., TD, long of 78 yds |
| Kick Returner | Sahmir Hagans | Graduate | #2 | 32 yd avg., long of 39 yds |
Turnovers
Duke is plus-4 (+4) in turnover margin so far, having thrown only 2 interceptions and have picked off 8 opponent passes. They have recovered 4 opponent fumbles so far while losing 6 of them to their seven opponents.
Summary
There’s a quote from the old movie Major League in which the character Jake Taylor says, “…well I guess there’s only one thing left to do. Win the whole ******* thing.”
The Tigers’ hopes of winning the “whole thing” have gone out the window, but there’s no reason to not win the rest of the games. All should be tough games, including the “closer” with our feathered friends from the midlands. But this team has the capability and talent to win out. Will they? I’m still hopeful.
Let’s go. Spot the ball!
Go Tigers!
