DURHAM, N.C. — Fourth quarter, down 13-7, Clemson marching down the field and running back Phil Mafah barrels through defenders to reach the 1-yard line, setting up the Tigers with just a yard on first-and-goal to take the lead in Wallace Wade Stadium.

The next snap, offensive coordinator Garrett Riley went back to the well with the run game that eclipsed 200 yards on the night, but disaster followed. Mafah saw a crease and cut back, but Tristan Leigh quite literally pancaking his man brought he and the defender into Mafah, who fumbled the ball. The Blue Devils recovered and returned it for 55 yards.

This ended up being a 14-point swing as Duke scored seven plays later. After the game, Mafah spoke to the media and recalled how the play occurred.

“I just got the handoff and I was trying to cut back and my arm was loose and they got it,” Mafah said. “So yeah, I gotta tip my hats off to Duke. They played a great game, they competed hard. We just had a lot of missed opportunities.”

With the pedigree Mafah and Will Shipley have built in the running back room, any mistake feels massive and that one may have ended up deciding the game for the Tigers. Having a short memory is key, and Clemson has to right the ship quickly in a game Saturday.

“Losing is never easy but we all signed up to play this game and we just gotta be professionals, get back into it, lift each other up and if God gives us tomorrow, we just gotta work. Just gotta take advantage of it,” Mafah said.

First opportunity to find success again comes at 2:15 p.m. Saturday against Charleston Southern. After a brutal loss, hunger to get back on the field was clear from all the players postgame, including Mafah. You can’t get a clean slate, but Clemson has to do the closest to that possible as the season’s complexion changed in just one night.