It was pure pandemonium at Wallace Wade Stadium on the campus of Duke University on Monday night as students and fans of the Blue Devils hopped over walls and crawled out of the bleachers to raucously rush toward the middle of Brooks Field.
Many felt they had a good reason to do so. Because for the first time since 2004, Duke beat Clemson in football.
Blue Devils quarterback Riley Leonard piled up 273 yards of total offense and rushed for a wild 44-yard touchdown as Duke won 28-7 over the visiting ninth-ranked Tigers in Durham.
Jordan Waters and Jaquez Moore also rushed for touchdowns for Duke, but it was really the Blue Devils’ defense that stood out. Duke forced the Tigers into three turnovers, and Ja'Mion Franklin and Wesley Williams, respectively, each blocked a Clemson field goal attempt. The Blue Devils also stopped Clemson three times when the Tigers were inside the 10-yard line.
Duke jumped out to a 6-0 lead before Clemson scored what proved to be its only touchdown of the game, when Cade Klubnik connected with Will Shipley on a two-yard score that was set up by a mishandled punt by the Blue Devils.
Leonard responded in the third quarter though. On a third-and-3, he broke three tackles as he scrambled out of the pocket and sprinted down the sideline for the go-ahead touchdown.
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Blue Devils students and fans cheer on Duke football vs. Clemson at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023.
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A Duke football fan watches the team battle Clemson at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023.
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The Duke mascot taunts Clemson fans at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023.
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Duke football players run out of the tunnel at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N..C., on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023, before taking on Clemson.
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A Duke cheerleader cheers on the Blue Devils against Clemson at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023.
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Clemson quarterback Cade Clubnik hands off to running back Will Shipley at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023.
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Duke's DeWayne Carter tackles a Clemson player at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023.
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Duke's Vincent Anthony Jr. celebrates after tackling a Clemson player at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023.
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Duke quarterback Riley Leonard aims to pass against Clemson at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023.
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Blue Devils students and fans cheer on Duke football vs. Clemson at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023.
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Duke's band performs in the stands at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023, as the Blue Devils played against Clemson.
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Duke quarterback Riley Leonard aims to pass against Clemson at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023.
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Blue Devils students and fans cheer on Duke football vs. Clemson at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023.
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Former Duke football coach Steve Spurrier is interviewed on the sidelines at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023, as the Blue Devils faced Clemson.
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Duke players Ja'Mion Franklin and Apollos Cook at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023, as the Blue Devils faced Clemson.
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Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik aims to pass against Duke at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023.
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Blue Devils students and fans begin to climb over the wall at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023, to rush the field after Duke football beat Clemson.
Mitchell Northam / WUNC
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A Duke fan sports a "Beat Clemson" button at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023.
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Duke defensive tackle Ja'Mion Franklin is interviewed after beating Clemson at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023.
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Duke coach Mike Elko and quarterback Riley Leonard share a moment at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023, after beating Clemson.
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It isn’t hyperbole to call this result a historic upset and one of the most memorable in the history of Duke football. Consider this: Duke was previously 0-13 in season-openers against ranked opponents, and it hadn’t beaten a team ranked inside the top 10 of the Associated Press Top 25 Poll since 1989, losing 28 straight games of that sort. Steve Spurrier was the head coach back then, but one thing is similar: that victory also came against Clemson.
Spurrier was in attendance Monday night to witness an unlikely triumph for Duke. However, the win may be proof that Duke’s success last season under coach Mike Elko wasn’t a fluke. The Blue Devils went 9-4 in 2022 — Elko’s first year at the helm — which was just the seventh time in program history that Duke won nine games or more in a single season.
“It’s important on the outside, because I think it makes people believe a little bit more what we’ve been saying since the day I got here,” Elko said after the victory. “What we’ve been saying internally is this is what Duke football is capable of. We’ve never ever wavered.”
Duke will aim to keep this success rolling on Saturday, when it hosts Lafayette for a 6 p.m. kickoff.
