Following a heart-breaking 17-14 loss to Ohio State last weekend, another stiff test awaits the Notre Dame Fighting Irish this weekend. The No. 11 Irish (4-1) travel to Durham, NC, to take on the No. 17 Duke Blue Devils (4-0) on Saturday.
The Blue Devils were a surprise breakout team in the Atlantic Coast Conference a year ago. Duke won nine games and capped off a successful 2022 campaign with a 30-13 victory over UCF in the Military Bowl. Duke’s head coach Mike Elko, a former defensive coordinator for Notre Dame, has the program heading in the right direction in his second season at the helm. His success is not going unrecognized. He was named ACC Coach of the Year last season.
“He’s always done a good job,” Irish head coach Marcus Freeman said of Elko at his Monday press conference. “I was at Kent State when he was at Bowling Green and his defenses did a great job. I followed him at Wake Forest, followed him when he was here. His defenses have always been well-coached. The thing that you respect is how hard they play. They’re aggressive. They play extremely hard and they’re sound. They’re not exotic. They don’t do crazy things on defense, but they play fast, and they play hard and tackle well. So, I have a lot of respect for him as a football coach and the defenses he’s been a part of. So, it will be a great challenge for our offense on Saturday.”
Blue Devils on a Roll
Under Elko, Duke left the blocks in a hurry this season. The Blue Devils knocked off Clemson 28-7 in their season opener on Labor Day. The roll continued with dominating wins over Lafayette, Northwestern, and UConn. Duke has outscored its last three opponents 121-28.
While the Irish possess a potent and efficient offense, the Blue Devils have a top-ranked defense. Duke allows just 8.75 points per game, ranking fourth in the nation behind Michigan, Ohio State, and Oklahoma. Duke has the No. 2-ranked red zone defense and is No. 16 in total defense.
To experience success on Saturday, the Irish will need a return to their production levels from their first three games. This season, the Fighting Irish have moved the ball at will at times, amassing a total of 2,386 yards. When it comes to scoring touchdowns, Notre Dame has recorded 16 through the air and 10 touchdowns on the ground. Despite the lack of offensive production a week ago against Ohio State, the Irish are averaging 39.6 points per game.
Riley Leonard a Dual Threat
The driving force behind Duke’s offense is dual-threat quarterback Riley Leonard, who emerged as one of the top signal-callers in the ACC last year. In 2022, he accounted for 33 touchdowns—20 passing and 13 rushing. He has demonstrated his passing prowess this season by accumulating 778 yards through the air, connecting for two touchdowns. He boasts a 67 percent completion rate. Leonard is also the second-leading rusher for the Blue Devils, amassing 238 yards and scoring four touchdowns on the ground. Leonard averages 8.2 yards per carry and has only been sacked once.
Pacing the Blue Devils rushing game is running back Jordan Waters who has 258 yards and seven touchdowns on the year. The Irish defense sits at 15th in the country when it comes to opposition scoring, allowing just 12.8 points per game. The defense has held opponents to 3.2 yards per rush and 111.2 yards rushing per game. Through the air, the Irish have surrendered a total of 747 yards, which ranks them 33rd in the country. They have relinquished 149.4 yards per game passing while conceding a completion percentage of just 47.4 percent.
Notre Dame Seeks Redemption
The loss to Ohio State is going to sting for some time, but the Irish need to put the loss behind them. Facing another top-ranked team in Duke should be the recipe. While Duke presents its own challenges, Notre Dame has a greater level of talent and experience compared to the teams Duke has faced in recent weeks.
Led by quarterback Sam Hartman, the Irish offense needs a bounce-back game following offensive struggles against the formidable Buckeye defense last week. Hartman provides Notre Dame with a dependable quarterback, but the Blue Devils should not overlook the Irish’s rushing attack. Running back Audric Estime has been outstanding for Notre Dame this season. With 591 rushing yards on 77 carries, the junior powerhouse presents a significant challenge for the Blue Devil defense. Known for his agility and speed, Estime is a game-changing ball carrier. For his part, Hartman is very familiar with Duke and the Blue Devils defense, having played against them while the quarterback at Wake Forest. Over the last two meetings against Duke, Hartman is a combined 60 for 89 passing for 749 yards, six touchdowns, and only one interception.
ESPN’s College GameDay on Location
With ESPN’s College GameDay on location in Durham, it marks the second straight week that a Notre Dame game is featured on the broadcast. It is GameDay’s initial visit to Duke, suggesting a raucous crowd will be on hand in support of the Blue Devils.
“We’ve played in hostile environments so we have to make sure we have a good plan for the crowd noise and what it will be about,” said Freeman. “But this thing’s going to be about us. We have to continue to remind ourselves that. We game plan for an opponent but Notre Dame has to execute at the level that we need Notre Dame to and that’s our focus and that’s my focus, and that’s got to be what our team is focused on.”
Defeating Elko’s Blue Devils on the road in front of a sold-out Wallace Wade Stadium will be no easy task for a hungry Notre Dame squad. But if Notre Dame can return to form, an Irish victory following last week’s disappointing loss in South Bend will go a long way in the Irish regaining their status as one of the supreme threats in college football.
