WRAL Sports Fan

Final Score: (10) Clemson 56, Duke 20

Durham, NC (Sports Network) - Tajh Boyd threw five touchdown passes for a second straight game, lifting the 10th-ranked Clemson Tigers over the Duke Blue Devils, 56-20.

Boyd completed 16-of-23 passes for 344 yards and three interceptions for the Tigers (8-1, 5-1 ACC), who have won five in a row since a loss to Florida State on Sept. 22. He also carried the ball nine times for 72 yards and a score.

DeAndre Hopkins caught four passes for 128 yards and three touchdowns for Clemson, which racked up 718 yards of total offense. Sammy Watkins hauled in six passes for 97 yards and a score.

The win moved Clemson into a tie with the Seminoles atop the ACC's Atlantic Division.

"I'm proud of our team. These guys just continue to respond and get better," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. "I'm proud of them for finishing tonight. This is kind of the end of our road season and it's only the second time in 15 years we've had four road wins. I'm real proud of our guys for that."

Sean Renfree connected on 23-of-39 passes for 240 yards and a touchdown for the Blue Devils (6-4, 3-3), who have dropped two straight. Jamison Crowder caught seven passes for 167 yards and a score.

"We wanted to bounce back after the Florida State game and come out and just compete," Crowder said. "As a result, though, we didn't compete as well as we should have. Now we just want to bounce back and look forward to two weeks from now to Georgia Tech."

All three of Hopkins' TD catches came in the first quarter. On the first possession of the game, Hopkins hauled in a 5-yard touchdown pass from Boyd.

After Ross Martin made a 46-yard field goal for Duke, Hopkins caught a 58-yard TD pass.

Crowder responded with a 77-yard TD catch to make it 14-10. But Hopkins' 45- yard touchdown catch gave Clemson a 21-10 lead with 4:49 left.

The Tigers started to pull away after Watkins' 30-yard TD catch near the end of the first quarter.

David Reeves of Duke caught a 17-yard TD pass from Brandon Connette early in the second stanza, cutting the gap to 28-17.

But Boyd responded with a touchdown pass and a rushing score to make it 42-17 at the break.

D.J. Howard's 1-yard TD run made it 49-17 midway through the third period. Martin made a 47-yard field goal with 1:56 left to make it a 29-point contest.

Charone Peake hauled in a 12-yard TD pass from Cole Stoudt in the fourth quarter.

Game Notes

Clemson holds a 36-16-1 series advantage all-time against Duke ... Boyd tied a school record with five touchdown passes against Wake Forest on Oct. 25 ... This was just the second game in Clemson history the Tigers had at least 300 yards rushing and 300 yards passing in the same game.