Upcoming Event: Football versus Blue & White Game on April 18, 2026 at 2 p.m.
Football
vs Blue & White Game
Blue Devils Look to Continue Climb Up ACC Standings
10/31/1999 1:00:00 AM | Football
Arguably the most improved team in the Atlantic Coast Conference this
season, the rising Duke football program (2-6, 2-3) takes to the road at
Clemson (4-4, 4-2) for what promises to be an offensive air show.
Duke is coming off a 25-22 win at Maryland in which junior quarterback
Spencer Romine threw for a career-high 404 yards and guided the Blue
Devils to a late game-winning drive. Clemson is also fresh off an ACC
road win at Wake Forest where fifth-year senior quarterback Brandon
Streeter came off the bench to rally the team in the fourth quarter.
The Blue Devils, in a fifth place tie in the ACC standings, are
looking for their first three-win ACC season since 1995 and only the
second in the 1990's. Though out of the postseason bowl scene, the
10 senior starters and the rest of the Blue Devils have stayed
determined to rebuild the program into an ACC competitor under
first-year head coach Carl Franks.
Last Week
Romine completed 27-of-42 passes for 404 yards and three touchdowns in
guiding the Blue Devils to the victory. The winning touchdown, a
14-yard Romine to Montgomery strike on fourth down, capped a 12-play,
70-yard drive with just 1:42 to play.
The Duke defense then completed the mission when Ryan Stallmeyer
intercepted a Calvin McCall pass with under a minute to play.
Placekicker Sims Lenhardt set two school records in the game, recording
his 235th point in the second quarter to set the all-time scoring mark
at Duke. That PAT was also his 60th straight make which broke the
school record for consecutive PATs made.
The victory was only Duke's fourth win against Maryland since 1972 but
the third in College Park since 1989.
DUKE (2-6, 2-3) vs. CLEMSON (4-4, 4-2)
November 6, 1999 1:00 pm
Memorial Stadium Clemson, S.C.
Spencer Romine recorded Duke's first 400-yard passing game since 1989
and receivers Scottie Montgomery and Richmond Flowers combined for 17
catches, 294 yards and three TDs as the Blue Devils overcame a 17-7
deficit for a 25-22 road win at Maryland.
1999 Schedule & Results
S. 11 at East Carolina L 9-27 S. 18 Northwestern (ot) L 12-15 S. 25 Vanderbilt L 14-31 O. 2 vs. #1 Florida State L 23-51 (at Jacksonville, Fla.) O. 9 at Virginia (2ot) W 24-17 O. 16 #8 Georgia Tech L 31-38 O. 23 N.C. State (ot) L 24-31 O. 30 at Maryland W 25-22 N. 6 at Clemson 1:00 N. 13 Wake Forest TBA N. 20 at North Carolina TBA
Quick Facts
Series Record
Duke trails the all-time series with Clemson by a 27-15-1 margin. Duke
won last year's battle, 28-23 in Durham. Duke has not won back-to-back
games against Clemson since 1969 and 1970. Duke has lost nine straight
in Death Valley with the last win coming in 1980 when head coach Carl
Franks was a sophomore on the Duke squad. Duke's record at Clemson is
4-14-1 with the last appearance being a 1997 29-20 overtime loss.
Radio
The Duke Radio Network consists of 32 stations throughout the state of
North Carolina. Flagship station is 620 AM - WDNC in Durham. Bob
Harris handles the play-by-play with Wes Chesson providing color and
Anthony Dilweg on the sidelines. John Roth hosts a one-hour pregame
Tailgate Show while John Brockwell handles engineering duties and
provides scores.
Television
None.
Internet
GoDuke.com provides complete TotalCast coverage of Duke games. Fans can
get statistics, player profiles and post game quotes. The game's radio
broadcast can also be heard. The site also features a weekly chat
session with a Duke personality, Tuesday's at 1:00 pm. This week: men's
soccer coach John Rennie.
Coach Franks Era
Head coach Carl Franks continues to implement his exciting and
progressive ideas in building a foundation for the Duke football program
of 1999 and beyond. The 1983 Duke graduate and Garner, N.C., native
returned to his alma mater on his 39th birthday last December 1 and has
been an instant success with fans, players and alumni.
Franks was an assistant coach in charge of running backs at Duke from
1987-89 under Steve Spurrier. The Blue Devils amassed most of their
greatest offensive seasons during that span, culminating in the 1989 ACC
co-championship and an appearance in the All-American Bowl. Duke was
20-13-1 during the three-year period.
From there, Franks went with Spurrier to the University of Florida where they established the Fun n' Gun offense that took the SEC and the nation by storm. The prolific program captured the 1996 national championship at the Sugar Bowl.
Franks owns a career record of 2-6 in his first year.
Last Year Versus Clemson
Senior cornerback Kenan Holley had two interceptions in leading Duke's
big play defense to a 28-23 victory over visiting Clemson in Wallace
Wade Stadium. Holley had a 40-yard interception return which set up a
Duke TD and a game-sealing pickoff late in the fourth quarter.
Tailback Letavious Wilks had a pair of touchdown runs as the Blue
Devils opened a commanding 21-3 halftime lead. Clemson rallied in the
second frame as Travis Zachery sprinted 39 yards for a TD and Mal Lawyer
caught a 22-yard TD strike from Brandon Streeter.
B.J. Hill added Duke's fourth rushing touchdown on the afternoon to open the fourth quarter and put the game away. Scottie Montgomery had seven catches for 102 yards for his third 100-yard receiving game of his career.
Airborne Again
Duke's touted Airborne offense over the past four weeks has proven to
be among the more potent offenses in the ACC.
In Duke's first four games, the offense averaged just 222.8 yards
passing with three different quarterbacks earning a start due to the
shoulder injury to Spencer Romine in the opener. Duke started the year
with an 0-4 record.
Since the return of Romine to the starting post the past four games, Duke has averaged 304.5 yards passing per game and 384.5 yards of total offense. The Blue Devils are 2-2 in those four games as Romine now has a 7-9 record as Duke's starting quarterback.
Injury Report
Running back B.J. Hill tore his anterior and medial collateral
ligaments in his left knee in the first half of the Maryland game and
will be out for the remainder of the season.
Hill rushed for 237 yards and two touchdowns in 1999 to put him over
the career 1,000-yard mark. He set the school's freshman rushing record
with 798 yards in 1998.
Receiver Kyle Shanahan has missed the last five games with a pulled groin and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
Experience Shall Lead
Duke entered the 1999 season with one of the more experienced lineups
in college football. A simple look at the number of career starts in
Saturday's projected starting lineup gives an indication of that
experience.
In Duke's projected starting 22 players, a total of 478 career starts are spread out among them. Broken down, the defense has 281 career starts ready to line up against Clemson and the offense sports 197. Those totals do not include a veteran kicking game which has placekicker Sims Lenhardt with 39 career starts and punter Brian Morton with 30.
Another interesting measure is the number of class members listed among the top 44 players on the depth chart. Duke's offense is dominated by the junior class with 10 while the senior class leads the defense with eight members.
Duke's 2-Deep By School Class
Class Off. Def. Senior 4 8 Junior 11 5 Sophomore 3 4 2nd-Yr. Frosh 2 3 Freshmen 1 0
Groza Award Again Within Reach for Lenhardt
Duke senior placekicker Sims Lenhardt, a two-time Groza Award
semifinalist and 1997 finalist, continues his assault on the all-time
record books in 1999. The All-America candidate owns eight school
records in his career and is Duke's all-time field goal leader with 55.
He has been sensational in 1999, making 14-of-18 field goal attempts
and 16-of-16 PATs. He has a dramatic game-tying 50-yard field goal at
the end of regulation against N.C. State, plus two 49-yarders and is
7-of-8 beyond 40 yards. Against Florida State he booted field goals of
46, 47 and 48 yards.
Lenhardt is currently tied for seventh in the country in field goals per game.
He is within two field goals of his own single season record for field goals of 16. The Charleston, S.C., native has connected on 16 in each of the past two seasons.
His 239 career points is a Duke school record, breaking Clarkston Hines' old mark of 234 against Maryland on October 30.
Impressive among Lenhardt's statistics is the fact that he has 19 career field goals of 45 yards or longer - a school record. Against Vanderbilt in 1998, he set an ACC and Duke standard with two 50-yard-plus field goals in the same game. He had a career-long 54-yarder at the end of the first half. In all, he had an ACC record four field goals of 50 yards or more in 1998.
He has made 61 straight PAT's dating back to his freshman yearwhich is also a school record.
NCAA Field Goal Leaders
No Name,School FG A/G 1. Sebastian Janikowski,FSU 20-27 2.22 2. Jamie Rheem, Kansas St. 14-15 2.00 3. Kris Stocketon, Texas 17-24 1.89 4. Terrence Kitchens, Texas A&M 15-21 1.88 5. Scott Westerfield, Miss. St. 13-17 1.86 6. Travis Dorsch, Purdue 16-23 1.78 7. Sims Lenhardt, Duke 13-16 1.86 ACC Career Field Goals
No Name, School FG 1. Nelson Welch, Clemson 70 2. Sebastian Janikowski, FSU 63 3. Obed Ariri, Clemson 60 Jess Atkinson, Maryland 60 Scott Sisson, Georgia Tech 60 6. Rafael Garcia, Virginia 58 7. Chris Gardocki, Clemson 56 8. Sims Lenhardt, Duke 55 Duke Career Points
1. Sims Lenhardt (1996- ) 239 2. Clarkston Hines (1986-89) 234 3. Randy Gardner (1989-92) 221
Combs on Nagurski and Outland List
Outland Trophy and Bronko Nagurski Award candidate Chris Combs is
having another standout season at his defensive tackle post he has held
the past four years. Listed among both national awards as a Player to
Watch - Combs is Duke's all-time tackle for loss leader.
The two-time All-ACC choice has been dominant thus far in 1999, recording a team-high 11 tackles for loss, nine quarterback pressures, a fumble recovery, a caused fumble and a blocked field goal. He has been particularly dominant the past two weeks. Against N.C. State he had 11 tackles, including two tackles for loss and eight solo stop efforts. He also had two QB pressures.
Versus Maryland he had three tackles for loss, a quarterback sack, two pressures and seven tackles.
He is Duke's all-time tackle for loss leader with 55.5. He had four against Northwestern earlier this year.
The Roanoke, Va., native is looking to earn the school's second Outland Trophy. Former Duke defensive lineman Mike McGee won the nation's most coveted defensive award in 1959. Combs has 19 career quarterback sacks, which is three shy of the school record held by Charles Bowser from 1978-81.
Career Statistics
G/GS FH Ast Tot Sacks TFL Int PBU 1996 11/ 7 26 27 53 8 11 0 1 1997 11/11 56 18 74 6 17 0 3 1998 11/11 30 17 47 4 14.5 0 0 1999 8/ 8 31 11 42 1 13 0 0 Ttls 41/37 143 73 216 19 55.5 0 4
Morton Records Career Day
Junior punter Brian Morton has always been among the ACC's elite
kickers but against Maryland last week he turned in one of his finest
performances.
Morton had six punts for 312 yards which averaged out to a career-high 52.0 yards per kick. That was also just eight yards shy of the school record set by Bob Grupp against Florida in 1975. He enters the Clemson game with a streak of four straight punts of 50 yards or longer. On the year Morton has averaged 41.5 yards per kick.
Captains Named
Head coach Carl Franks made a special point to have his players
nominate and vote for team captains prior to the 1999 season in order to
lead the Blue Devils on and off the field.
Seniors Eric Jones and Chris Combs are the team's defensive captains
and Austin Smithwick and Scottie Montgomery will be the offensive
captains.
The Kings of Overtime
No other school has played more football than Duke in 1999 as three
games have gone into an extra period, including a double overtime
victory at Virginia on October 9.
In the four years that overtime has been introduced into the college game, Duke has played in five such contests. But the trend has been evident most recently as four of the last 11 Duke games have gone into overtime.
Only Oregon and Mississippi have played more overtime games in history - six apiece. Duke owns a 1-4 record in such games.
Montgomery and Flowers Among ACC Leaders
Duke's Scottie Montgomery is having another standout campaign and
certainly in line for All-ACC honors. The Cherryville, N.C., native
enters the Maryland game sixth in the ACC in catches (29) and fifth in
receiving yards (500).
He is also just the fifth player in Duke history to have 2,000 or more yards receiving in a career.
Against UVa, Montgomery had eight catches for 172 yards and threw a nine-yard TD pass to put the game into overtime. On Duke's final drive he had a 40-yard kickoff return, two 23-yard catches, and then the pass. He was named the ACC Offensive Back of the Week for his efforts.
His receiving partner, Richmond Flowers, caught that stunning TD on a reverse. Flowers has 25 catches for 359 yards and two touchdowns.
The two got off to impressive starts in 1999 with Montgomery catching seven passes for 97 yards and Flowers five catches for 101 yards against East Carolina. It was Flowers' fourth 100-yard game of his career - something only five other players in school history have done.
Montgomery is currently tied for fifth all-time at Duke in career receptions with 147 and is fifth in career receiving yardage with 2,027 yards. He needs 56 yards to pass Doug Green (2,082 yards) for fourth all-time at Duke.
Montgomery was the team's MVP a year ago in a season that included a prolific 12-catch, 243-yard performance at Vanderbilt. Duke's Scottie Montgomery is having another standout campaign and certainly in line for All-ACC honors. The Cherryville, N.C., native enters the Clemson game fifth in the ACC in catches (38) and receiving yards (77.6 per game).
He is in the middle of a nearly unprecedented three-game stretch with 22 catches for 363 yards and two TDs. He is just the fifth player in Duke history to have 2,000 or more yards receiving in a career and now stands fourth all-time at Duke with 2,181 yards.
At his current pace, Montgomery will close out his career second on Duke's all-time receptions and yardage list to only Clarkston Hines.
Against UVa, Montgomery had eight catches for 172 yards and threw a nine-yard TD pass to put the game into overtime. On Duke's final drive he had a 40-yard kickoff return, two 23-yard catches, and then the pass. He was named the ACC Offensive Back of the Week for his efforts.
His receiving partner, Richmond Flowers, is coming off a career game in which he had eight catches for 173 yards and two TDs.
It was Flowers' fifrth 100-yard game of his career - something only five other players in school history have done. He also has 10 career touchdown receptions.
Montgomery was the team's MVP a year ago in a season that included a prolific 12-catch, 243-yard performance at Vanderbilt.
Duke Offensive Career Records
Receptions No Yds TD Avg 1. Clarkston Hines (1986-89) 189 3,318 38 17.6 2. Roger Boone (1986-89) 168 1,444 4 8.6 3. Corey Thomas (1994-97) 165 2,297 25 13.9 4. Wes Chesson (1968-70) 164 2,399 10 14.6 5. Scottie Montgomery (1996-) 158 2,181 12 13.8 6. Randy Cuthbert (1988-92) 147 1,261 2 8.6 Yardage No Yds TD Avg 1. Clarkston Hines (1986-89) 189 3,318 38 17.6 2. Wes Chesson (1968-70) 164 2,399 10 14.6 3. Corey Thomas (1994-97) 165 2,297 25 13.9 4. Scottie Montgomery (1996-) 158 2,181 12 13.8 5. Doug Green (1983-87) 142 2,082 16 14.7
Hightest Academic Award
This past spring, Duke won the prestigious AFCA Academic Achievement
Award given to the university with the nation's highest graduation rate
among its football players for a record 10th time and seventh time in
the 1990's.
Duke graduated all 12 members of its incoming class of 1993-94 to win the award in 1999. Duke has also captured the award in 1981, 1984, 1987, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997.
Since 1988, Duke has graduated a remarkable 247 of its 258 scholarship football players. That group has also earned two postseason bowl bids and captured the 1989 ACC co-championship on the field.
Grant Return Having Impact
Senior cornerback Lamar Grant's return to the lineup has been a big
plus. Grant sealed the Virginia victory with his fourth career
interception while also adding two more pass breakups to his career
total.
Against Georgia Tech he had a career-high 16 tackles, including 13 solo efforts.
He enters the Clemson game with 27 career pass breakups which is the third highest total in school history.
Duke Defensive Career RecordsPass Breakups No 1. Wyatt Smith (1988-91) 32 Erwin Sampson (1988-91) 32 3. Lamar Grant (1996- ) 27 4. Quinton McCracken (1988-91) 24 5. Fonda Williams (1985-89) 22
D. Clark Puts up the Defense
Senior strong safety Darius Clark is second on the team in total
tackles with 77 heading into the Maryland contest. He also is 20th in
the country in interceptions with four. He had back-to-back games early
in the season with two interceptions apiece against Vanderbilt and
Florida State.
Clark also had a 16-tackle outing against Vanderbilt with two tackles for loss. He has had double digit tackles in three straight games heading into the Tech game. His 83 return yards is also among the Top 20 in the country thus far in 1999.
Romine Moves Up Among Elite
Duke quarterback Spencer Romine had a career-high 404 yards passing
against Maryland which not only was the ninth highest single game
passing total in school history, but moved him on to the career passing
charts as well.
In just 20 career games, Romine has already thrown for 2,734 yards which is the 10th highest total in school history. Ironically, Romine wears the same No. 14 that his position coach Ben Bennett wore when he set the NCAA record for career passing with 9,614 yards at Duke from 1980-83.
In 1999, Romine has already set career highs for passing yardage, pass completions, pass attempts and touchdowns. His QB rating of 116.5 is also a career-high to date.
If Romine had played the NCAA minimum number of games to qualify for the national statistics, his current total offense average of 282.6 yards per game would rank him 15th, right behind Texas' Major Applewhite.
Healthy Hill
Sophomore running back B.J. Hill is finally healthy and he got right
back into form against N.C. State, rushing for a season-high 107 yards
and two touchdowns.
Hill set the freshman rushing record in 1998 with 798 yards. Last Saturday's total was his highest single game total since last year's Maryland game when he ran for a career-high 124 yards on 27 carries. Duke had not had a 100-yard rusher in 1999 until Hill's outing last week. He also had five catches for 53 yards, including two catches on Duke's game-tying drive at the end of regulation.
D. Clark Puts up D. Fense
Senior strong safety Darius Clark leads Duke with 70 tackles heading
into the Maryland contest. He also is 11th in the country in
interceptions with four. He had back-to-back games early in the season
with two interceptions apiece against Vanderbilt and Florida State.
Clark also had a 16-tackle outing against Vanderbilt with two tackles for loss. He has had double digit tackles in three straight games heading into the Tech game. His 83 return yards is also among the Top 20 in the country thus far in 1999.
Stalling the Enemy Offense
Senior linebacker Ryan Stallmeyer has been a long-time Duke standout
and in 1999 he has begun to move up the statistical tackle lists.
Against N.C. State he recorded his 300th career tackle, becoming just
the ninth player at Duke to go over the 300-tackle figure.
He has 307 tackles in his illustrious career, placing him ninth
all-time on the Duke career tackle list. He is just four short of
passing Mark Allen for eighth.
Career Passing
PC PA Pct TD Int Yds
1. Ben Bennett (1980-83) 820 1375 59.6 55 57 9,614
2. Spence Fischer (1992-95) 788 1369 57.6 48 46 9,021
3. Steve Slayden (1984-87) 699 1204 58.1 48 53 8,004
4. Leo Hart (1968-70) 487 872 55.8 23 32 6,116
5. Dave Brown (1989-91) 463 845 54.8 42 33 5,717
6. Anthony Dilweg (1985-88) 342 594 57.6 27 24 4,557
7. Mike Dunn (1975-78) 288 570 50.5 11 35 3,511
8. Billy Ray (1989-90) 274 438 62.5 23 19 3,282
9. Scotty Glacken (1963-65) 255 480 53.1 24 23 3,170
10. Spencer Romine (1997-) 211 410 51.5 12 17 2,734
Career Tackles
Solo Ast Tot
1. Mike Junkin (1983-86) 298 215 513
2. Carl McGee (1975-78) 241 271 511
3. Darrell Spells (1989-92) 228 191 419
4. Erwin Sampson (1988-91) 231 184 415
5. Emmett Tilley (1979-82) 244 151 405
6. Billy Granville (1992-96) 207 167 374
7. Jim Tyson (1979-81) 179 159 338
8. Chike Egbuniwe (1994-97) 198 130 328
9. Ryan Stallmeyer (1996-) 185 136 321
10. Mark Allen (1988-91) 144 166 310
1999 Season Awards
Chris Combs
Outland Trophy Watch List
Nagurski Award Watch List
Sims Lenhardt
Lou Groza Award Candidate
Scottie Montgomery
ACC Offensive Back of the Week (Oct. 11)
WESLEY WILLIAMS CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Tuesday, March 31
LUKE MERGOTT 2025 HIGHLIGHTS
Tuesday, March 31
The Breakout - The Nate Sheppard Story
Tuesday, March 31
ONE TO REMEMBER - Duke vs. Clemson Cinematic Recap
Tuesday, March 31
