How the Clemson Tigers Can Stop Duke's Explosive Offense in Week 10

The 2025 season hasn’t gone according to plan for the Clemson Tigers. Once viewed as a national contender, Clemson now finds itself battling to stay bowl-eligible, entering Week 10 with a 3-4 record and sitting 2-3 in ACC play.

With their backs against the wall, the Tigers face a crucial matchup against Duke — and if they want to climb back to .500, they’ll need to focus on these three game-changers this weekend.

Attack Darian Mensah

It’s been clear that through the first nine weeks of play in 2025, Duke signal caller Darian Mensah has been the heart and soul of this team. Since transferring from Tulane over the offseason, he’s taken his game to the next level, completing 70.3% of his passes for 2,211 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and two interceptions.

However, in Duke’s three losses this season – Illinois, Tulane and Georgia Tech – one statistic stood out above the rest: quarterback pressures. In the defeats to Tulane and Georgia Tech, the Blue Devils’ offensive line surrendered a season-high 17 pressures in each game. Even against Illinois, they allowed 13 pressures, which tied for the second-most this season, matching their total from a narrow win over NC State.

And when the pressure’s been on, it’s shown, as Mensah has fumbled three times and thrown both of his interceptions in those losses.

While Clemson’s defensive line hasn’t quite met expectations this season, the group’s potential remains undeniable. With talents like Peter Woods, T.J. Parker, and Will Heldt anchoring the trenches, this matchup against a middling offensive line could be the spark they need.

Make Duke’s Offense One-Dimensional

If Clemson wants to keep Duke in check, it starts with forcing the Blue Devils out of their offensive rhythm.

Duke’s offense is notably lopsided in losses, with the air-raid tending to work out much better than the ground game. Through the three-game span, the Blue Devils totaled 289 yards on 80 carries, which comes out to a measly 3.6 yards per carry.

But it gets even worse when you take out the outlier game of Tulane, as Duke running back Nate Sheppard accounted for 75 yards on five carries in the contest. In their two losses against the Yellow Jackets and Fighting Illini, Duke ran for just 150 yards total on 56 touches, which is under three yards per carry.

If Clemson can bottle up Duke’s ground game consistently and force them to rely on the pass, it’ll put the Blue Devils right where the Tigers want them: predictable and under pressure.

Win Turnover Battle

This is an obvious one, as winning the turnover battle is key for every game, but with Clemson only forcing three turnovers in the past five contests, it seems like a point of emphasis heading into the matchup.

In losses, the Blue Devils have a -6 turnover margin, with a fumble and an interception each vs. Tulane, four fumbles against Illinois and one fumble against Georgia Tech.

At the end of the day, it all connects. Pressure leads to bad throws, one-dimensional offenses make easy reads, and turnovers decide games. If Clemson can check all three boxes, the Tigers will give themselves a real shot to control this one from start to finish.