The Tiger

Media Credit: Ryan Boury C.J. Spiller leaves a Duke defender in the dust.

Many Clemson fans were reminded of what a blowout looks like after Clemson (5-5, 3-4 in the ACC) thumped Duke (4-6, 1-5 in the ACC) 31-7 on Saturday. The Tiger defense held Duke to just 168 yards of total offense. Quarterback Cullen Harper played a turnover free game for the first time in seven games. The Georgia native also completed an impressive 20 of his 26 passing attempts to total 292 yards in the air. It was the most yards in a game this season for Harper. The Clemson ground attack was also effective with James Davis adding two touchdowns. Davis is now only four short of tying Travis Zachary's school record of 50 career touchdowns.

C.J. Spiller continues to be a focal point for the offense, and he capitalized by having a record-setting Saturday. The junior running back added an 83-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter, which is the longest in school history from a running back. The reception also gave Spiller 108 receiving yards on the day, which is a single-game record for a Clemson tailback.

Aaron Kelly became the ACC's all-time reception leader after catching his tenth pass of the day and 217th of his career. The senior wideout broke a record set in 1998 by Wake Forest's Desmond Clark. Kelly is now just 129 yards short of breaking Terry Smith's school reception yardage record.

The offensive line took a step in the right direction against the Blue Devils after a setback at Florida State.

The unit has struggled to stay healthy but was able to give Harper and the offense adequate time to develop plays.

The defense recorded three sacks on the day, a season high.

Kavell Conner and Brandon Maye both added one sack each while Jarvis Jenkins and Ricky Sapp split one. In the secondary, Michael Hamlin and Coty Sensabaugh each had key interceptions.

A key turning point in the game was the injury to Duke's star quarterback, Thaddeus Lewis. Lewis went down during Duke's second offensive possession after a big hit from Rashaad Jackson. Jackson has been plagued by injury for most of the season, but showed his ability to change a game after knocking out the Blue Devil quarterback.

Clemson escaped the game Saturday without any major injuries which has hurt the Tigers all year.

After playing their most complete game of year, Clemson will look to continue its success against Virginia.

A win in Charlottesville will keep the Tigers' bowl hopes alive for another week.

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