Duke Running Game Vs. Notre Dame Run Defense
With a No. 79 national ranking last season in rushing (150.3 yards per game), the Duke ground game doesn’t pop off the page. But the Blue Devils will return their leading rusher from the last two seasons in third-year starting tailback Deon Jackson, an Atlanta Pace Academy product Notre Dame was much interested in after his Irish Invasion visit in 2016.
The 6-0, 215-pound senior managed 641 yards and 3.7 yards per carry as a junior last season, a marked production drop from his sophomore year in 2018 when he rushed for 847 yards, 5.3 yards per carry and was a second-team All-ACC selection.
Jackson didn’t record a 100-yard game in 2019 — his season best was a 91-yard effort against North Carolina — and Notre Dame held Jackson to just 52 yards on 14 carries in a 31-point Irish road rout of Duke last November.
With a No. 60 final 2019 ranking in rushing defense (153.1 yards allowed per game), Notre Dame was adequate but not terrific in this category, though it steadily improved throughout the season and demonstrated its most consistent and best work during the last six games of 2019.
Senior Irish linebackers Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Drew White both return after tying for the team lead in tackles last season with 80, giving the Irish defense a notable advantage in this category — especially after Duke center Jack Wohlabaugh, an honorable mention All-ACC pick last year, suffered an ACL injury last week that will sideline him this season.
Advantage: Notre Dame
