Rapid Review: Notre Dame 27, Duke 13
No. 10 Notre Dame’s (1-0) first-ever conference football game resulted in a hard-fought 27-13 victory over Duke (0-1) at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Fighting Irish trailed 3-0 at the end of the first quarter, held a 10-6 advantage at the half and entered the fourth quarter with a precarious 17-13 lead.
They closed with a 10-0 run on a 17-yard touchdown pass on third-and-10 from fifth-year senior quarterback Ian Book to senior slot Avery Davis, who outfought his defender in the end zone for the score, and then a 34-yard field goal by Jonathan Doerer with 5:21 remaining.
On a drizzly day, Doerer also converted his only other field goal, from 48 yards, as the first half expired to give Notre Dame a 10-6 cushion.
Sophomore running back Kyren Williams accounted for 205 total offense yards, accumulating 112 on the ground on 19 carries and highlighted by one- and 26-yard touchdown runs to lead the Notre Dame offense that sputtered early before picking up the pace in the second half.
Williams also caught two passes for 93 yards, although a 75-yard gain was squandered with an interception thrown into the end zone by Book on the next play.
TOP 3 STORYLINES
• Notre Dame's offense opened the game with three straight three-and-out possessions and faced fourth-and-8 from its 21-yard line on the fourth before a 14-yard gain on a fake punt helped shake off some of the rust and ignite better results on both offense and defense. It sparked a 96-yard drive that ended with Williams' one-yard score to make it 7-3, and the Irish would not trail again.
• In addition to the fake punt, another crucial sequence was the first possession of the second half with the Irish clinging to a 10-6 lead. Duke wideout Jalon Calhoun picked up a first down on a completed pass inside the 50, but senior rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah forced a fumble that sixth-year senior safety Shaun Crawford recovered at his 41-yard line with 11:29 left in the quarter.
On that ensuing Irish series on fourth-and-1 from the Duke 26, Williams found room on the outside and sprinted for the touchdown to make it 17-6.
• It was announced during the game that head coach Brian Kelly's contract has been extended through the 2024 season.
TURNING POINT
Trailing 3-0 and facing fourth-and-8 from his 21-yard line, sophomore punter Jay Bramblett faked the kick and on a sweep made a cutback for a 14-yard gain. It was a gutsy call that would have been second-guessed severely had it failed so deep in Irish territory.
That was the spark that helped continue a 96-yard touchdown drive that included a 13-yard run by Williams and a 20-yard screen to Jafar Armstrong before Williams broke a tackle in the backfield to score on a one-yard run with 10:39 remaining in the first half. It gave Notre Dame the lead for good.
STAT OF THE GAME
After getting jolted on offense and a little bit back on its heels on defense in the first quarter when Duke out-gained the Irish 151-7, Notre Dame then out-gained the Blue Devils 434-183 over the final three quarters, notably 109-27 in the fourth.
GAME BALLS
Williams is the obvious choice on offense as he was given the lead back role with his 19 carries. The second-most carries belonged to freshman Chris Tyree with six for 26 yards.Williams also picked up the blitzing linebacker on Book's touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, giving him the time to make the throw.
Honorable mention to junior receiver Joe Wilkins, who replaced an injured Ben Skowronek and caught four passes for 44 yards, three of them to set up Doerer's first field goal.
Also a shout-out to freshman tight end Michael Mayer on the final touchdown drive that made it 24-13. On third-and-7 he caught a pass where he was about to be tackled short of the first down by several yards, but shook it off and provided a new set of downs for the Irish. Had he been stopped short ... who knows?
Defensively, Owusu-Koramoah displayed his All-America form with a team-high nine tackles (six solo), two for loss with a sack, and a crucial forced fumble with the Irish leading 10-6 that set up a touchdown to make it 17-6.
Honorable mention to sophomore end Isaiah Foskey, who had a sack and two pass pressures during critical junctures in the first half.
HISTORICAL FOOTNOTE
This was Notre Dame’s first-ever conference game in football, but the victory also tied the second-longest winning streak of 19 in Notre Dame Stadium since its 1930 opening. The 1987-90 teams also won 19 straight at home. The school record is 28 from 1942-50.
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