By Heath Bradley.

By Heath Bradley

While Clemson and Duke do not meet very often on the gridiron anymore, the two schools have met a total of 52 times in history. In those 52 matchups, the Tigers lead the all-time series 35-16-1, including a 14-12 advantage in games played at Duke.

The last meeting between the No. 9 Tigers and Blue Devils, a 31-7 Clemson victory in Death Valley, is a game that has special meaning to Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney. The victory, Swinney’s first in Death Valley as the head coach of the Clemson Tigers, saw one of his former pupils, Aaron Kelly, break the ACC career receptions record with a 10-catch performance.

Kelly finished his career with 232 receptions, a record that stood until earlier this season when it was broken by Duke wide receiver Conner Vernon. Vernon currently has 252 catches for 3,436 yards and 17 touchdowns in his career.  He needs just 82 yards to break the ACC’s career record in receiving yards.

The last time Clemson traveled to Durham, Clemson defeated the Blue Devils by a score of 47-10. After a slow start to the game, the Tigers scored 16 points in a mere 39 seconds to take a 26-7 lead into the half. The Tigers first struck with a three-yard touchdown run from Cullen Harper. Just 25 seconds later, Clemson linebacker Courtney Vincent sacked Duke quarterback Thaddeus Lewis in the end zone for a safety.

The Tigers then blew the game open when CJ Spiller returned the free kick 84 yards for a touchdown, giving the Tigers 16 points in 39 seconds. Clemson closed the first half by scoring 26 consecutive points.

The Tigers were able to reach the end zone three more times in the second half, while holding Duke to a field goal, en route to a 47-10 victory. The 37-point victory that day avenged the Tigers previous trip to Durham, a 16-13 loss on a last second Blue Devils’ field goal.

For the Clemson coaching staff, the trip to Durham will be a homecoming of sorts for two Tiger assistants. Tight ends coach Danny Pearman spent the 2007 season as the tight ends coach for the Blue Devils under then head Ted Roof. Defensive ends coach Marion Hobby also spent time on staff at Duke; joining current head coach David Cutcliffe in 2008.

Hobby spent three seasons in Durham as the co-defensive coordinator before making the move to Clemson prior to the 2011 season.

While the Tigers may not have a very impressive record versus Duke on the road, this is not a Clemson team of the past. This team has stepped up to every challenge that it has been faced with in recent weeks, and not only has it stepped up it has succeeded.

The Tigers will need another great defensive performance against a talented Duke offense, but expect the Clemson offense to have another prolific day as the Tigers look to defeat Duke for the ninth time in the last 10 meetings.