Top Players Against Duke

The Notre Dame quarterback came through with a big performance against a quality Duke defense. He looked much more decisive and went 18 for 32 for 181 yards and four touchdowns through the air.

Book did throw two interceptions, but his arm was hit on one of them and the other came on a shot in the end zone on fourth down. Picking the ball off actual hurt the Duke field position.

He also added 139 yards on the ground and led the team in rushing. This included two carries of 53 and 45 yards.

After this performance, he became the first Irish quarterback to run for more than 100 yards and four touchdowns.

To be honest, all three starting Irish linebackers were considered for this.

White led the team in total tackles with seven and solo stops with five. He also had Notre Dame’s lone sack of the evening.

But where he had the greatest impact on the game is on pivotal third and short where, on a few occasions early in the game, White was able to stuff the Blue Devil running back before the first-down marker and force a punt.

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In addition to having his best game as a wide receiver and snagging two touchdowns, Finke was outstanding on special teams. He returned two punts for a total of 51 yards, and one was for a long of 46 yards.

This set up the Irish for their fifth touchdown of the game, which allowed several backups to see action.

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