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Football
vs NC State
Saturday, November 5
Clemson, S.C.
1 p.m.
Duke University
20
at
49
Clemson
Clemson Defeats Duke, 49-20
11/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
CLEMSON, S.C. - Clemson's Will Proctor threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Tigers to a 49-20 victory over Duke in front of a Homecoming crowd of 77,000 at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, S.C.
The Tigers move to 5-4 overall and 3-4 in league play while Duke falls to 1-9 overall and 0-7 in the ACC.
The loss overshadowed a 328-yard passing day for Blue Devil quarterback Zack Asack, who completed 26-of-43 passes on the afternoon. Duke sent two receivers over the 100-yard mark, with tight end Ben Patrick catching 10 balls for 100 yards while wide receiver Eron Riley had four receptions for 130 yards including a 66-yard touchdown.
Clemson struck first in the contest on a one-yard touchdown run by Proctor at the 9:23 mark of the opening quarter. The Tigers converted a fourth and short on the drive as well as a 36-yard pass completion to Chansi Stuckey down to the Duke one-yard line.
Clemson stretched the lead to 14-0 with 13 seconds remaining in the first quarter on an 18-yard touchdown run by James Davis. Davis picked up 38 yards on two carries on the 7-play, 58-yard drive.
Duke countered on the ensuing possession with a 10 play, 62-yard drive that was finished off by a 34-yard field goal by Joe Surgan. The big play on the drive was a 32-yard completion from Asack to Riley down the right sideline. Asack opening the game with eight straight completions before a drop snapped the streak on Duke's second drive of the day.
After the two teams exchanged three-and-outs, Clemson struck again with an 8-play, 64-yard drive that was capped up by a 19-yard touchdown run by Reggie Merriweather with 5:50 remaining in the half.
Duke countered with another nice drive that included a 25-yard Asack-to-Riley completion down to the Clemson 25-yard line. The drive stalled out and Surgan came on to attempt a 43-yard field goal. The Tigers' Tramaine Billey came up the middle to block the kick and Clemson recovered inside Duke territory with 32 seconds remaining in the half.
The Tigers tacked on their fourth touchdown when Proctor hooked up with Stuckey for an 11-yard touchdown to give Clemson a 28-3 advantage with seven seconds left in the half. Stuckey accounted for all 33 yards on the touchdown drive.
The Blue Devils came out of halftime and ripped off a 15-play, 77-yard drive that took 7:19 and was capped off by a one-yard plunge by Justin Boyle. The touchdown was Boyle's team leading eighth of the year. Duke tight ends Patrick and Andy Roland combined to catch five passes for 49 yards on the drive.
Clemson countered with a 40-yard touchdown pass from Proctor to Stuckey to push their lead back to 24 at 34-10. After the two teams exchanged punts, Duke took over on their own 34-yard line. On the first play of the possession, Asack hit Riley on a 66-yard scoring strike. The pass play was Duke's longest of the season and gave Riley his first career 100-yard receiving day.
The Tigers moved ahead 42-17 with 9:52 remaining on an eight-yard touchdown run by Merriweather. On a 23-yard run by James Davis, Duke freshman Glenn Williams forced a fumble but the ball scooted out-of-bounds at the eight-yard line before it could be recovered.
Surgan connected on a 49-yard field goal at the 2:56 mark of the final period before Clemson accounted for the final margin with a 12-yard touchdown dash by Merriweather.
Following an open date, Duke will close the season on November 19 at North Carolina.
Players Mentioned
QB
/ Football
RB
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H-Back
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WR
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TE
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K
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CB
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