Ivan Herrera 
Welcome back to another exciting season of CFB! Week one action continues as we get a special edition of Monday Night Football College Edition. The Clemson Tigers are traveling to Duke to face the Blue Devils at Wallace Wade Stadium. The Tigers are coming into the game as 13-point favorites against a Duke team that I think will give them some problems.
Clemson Captain Plays
Cade Klubnik $17,700DK/$16,500FD
Klubnik is coming into the 2023 season as the starter for Clemson after spending 2022 as the backup to current Oregon State Beaver DJ Uiagalelei. Also new to Clemson is their OC, Garrett Riley. Riley was brought in to implement the air raid offense that he had success with at TCU last season.
As a backup, he didn’t get too much time on the field besides two games against UNC and Tennessee, where he completed 78% of his 2022 pass attempts. In those two games, he combined for 599 passing yards but failed to throw a touchdown pass. But he did manage to find the end zone twice while running the ball, as he finished with 81 rushing yards and two scores.
His opponents on Monday night will be a good opening test for him. The Duke pass defense last season was ranked 105th against the pass, allowing 257.3 passing yards per game. Surprisingly, they’re ranked higher than both UNC and Tennessee. But like I mentioned, the Duke pass defense is going to test Klubnik, and we will get to see how he will be able to handle the pressure of being the guy at Clemson.
Antonio Williams $12,600DK/$13,000FD
Williams is entering his sophomore season at Clemson, and the word around camp is that he matured both on and off the field during the offseason. He led the Tigers with 56 receptions and 604 receiving yards last season. He looked like a solid player last year, but Clemson had doubts about his maturity and leadership. Dabo Swinney said during training camp that he saw a change in Williams attitude, and it was confirmed by Williams saying that he needed to do better to help a WR room that underachieved last season.
All the talk makes me very interested in Williams in this showdown. If he has improved both on and off the field, it will likely be seen against this Duke squad.
Jake Briningstool $3,000DK/$8,000FD
This is a risky play, but the salary he opens on DraftKings is hard to ignore. Briningstool was behind Davis Allen last season at the TE spot. This year, with the departure of Allen, he is the starting TE for Clemson. Although he was a backup in 2022, he still managed to finish the year with 25 receptions, 285 yards, and four touchdowns. He will have an uptick in production as a starter, and he is a big security blanket for Cade Klubnik
Duke Captain Plays
Riley Leonard $15,600DK/$14,000
One of the best QBs in CFB and my dark horse for the Heisman. Last season, Leonard threw for 2967 yards and 20 touchdowns. They weren’t the greatest passing numbers, but Leonard is also a good runner. He ended 2022 with 699 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. Leonard gets a favorable matchup against a Tigers team that gave up 334.4 yards per game last season. For Duke to have a chance against Clemson, Leonard is going to have to be successful with the second play. When the initial plays breakdown, he will need to be able to move out of the pocket and find a receiver or use his legs to get into favorable downs and distances.
Jalon Calhoun $11,100DK/$10,000FD
Calhoun is returning for the 2023 season and is entering the year as the top returning pass catcher for the Blue Devils. Last season with Leonard, Calhoun had 873 yards and four scores. Calhoun is a solid choice for the captain as he will be Leonard’s main target in the passing game, and if the game becomes a shootout, he is the Blue Devil with the best chance to have a showdown-breaking night.
Favorite Util. Plays
All the plays mentioned above can be used at Util. as well
Will Shipley $9,800DK/$15,500FD
He is also a solid play at captain. Shipley ran for 1182 yards and 15 touchdowns last season. On DraftKings, he never had a score in the single digits, as his lowest score was 11.1. Duke’s T26-ranked rush defense last season gave me some pause, so I didn’t add him to my CPT plays. But he is one of the better RBs, so a good performance is likely.
Beaux Collins $7,800DK/$12,000FD
Collins missed a lot of time last season, only appearing in eight games for the Tigers. He finished the year with 373 yards and five touchdowns. He is a good play and a pivot off of Williams if you need some salary relief. One of the biggest questions for him coming into Week 1 is his chemistry with Klubnik. Of the three starting WRs on the depth chart, he is the only one who didn’t appear in the UNC and Tennessee games.
Jordan Moore $3,400DK/$11,500FD
Moore finished 2022 only two receptions behind Calhoun. He ended the year tied with Sahmir Hagans for the Duke lead in receiving touchdowns with five. Moore is a great pivot off of Calhoun since he should see similar targets and has a better nose for the endzone.
Nicky Dalmolin $1,600DK/$7,000FD
Similarly to Clemson’s TE, Dalmolin is a bit of a risky play. He finished 2022 with 21 receptions for 170 yards, but he did manage to score four touchdowns. When Duke gets inside the ten, I can see it becoming Dalmolin time, as he scored two of his four touchdowns from the 2-yard line. The other two were from 20-plus yard plays.
Other Util. Plays to consider:
- Sahmir Hagans $2,400DK/$8,500FD: Tied for most receiving touchdowns last season
- Adam Randall $6,660DK/$10,500FD: Listed as the third WR for Clemson
- Cole Turner $5,600DK/$8,000FD: Could see time as the WR4 at Clemson
Drago’s Best Bets:
- Duke +13
- Both teams to score 20+ points
Make sure to check out the CFB live stream every Friday night on the Win Daily YouTube page.
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