College Football

Duke QB Riley Leonard denied homework extension after leading upset over Clemson

Updated Sep. 25, 2023 8:57 p.m. ET

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Riley Leonard is the only college football quarterback to lead a then-unranked team to a win over a team in the Associated Press preseason top 10, thanks to his Duke Blue Devils' 28-7 upset of No. 9 Clemson on Monday night.

Riley Leonard is also late on his homework.

Leonard had an assignment due at midnight Monday, and after his 175-yard performance in Duke's win, he pleaded with his professor for an extension in a video posted to social media by the ACC.

Unfortunately for Leonard, the professor called his bluff in a response video that instantly went viral, pointing out that Leonard was not the only Duke football player in the class — and several of his teammates had worked ahead and completed the assignment before the game.

"Great game last night, man. It was so exciting. Congratulations to you and all your teammates," Don Taylor said. "But you know, Wesley Williams and the other linemen who were in the class, they said they prepared ahead and did it ahead of time, so why didn't the quarterback? So no way, man, no extension."

Taylor, a professor in Duke's school of public policy, apparently was not about to set a double standard for Leonard. In response, Taylor's page on RateMyProfessors.com has been hit with negative reviews defending Leonard and calling on Taylor to reverse the decision and give Leonard an extension. There were also some positive reviews defending him.

"Mid," one negative review simply said.

The Duke football team, meanwhile, vaulted into the Top 25 of the latest AP poll, coming in at No. 21. The Blue Devils were one spot ahead of the other previously unranked team that upset a member of the preseason top 25 — Deion Sanders' Colorado Buffalos, who beat No. 17 TCU on Saturday.

Are the Clemson Tigers no longer an elite program?

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