Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 16, 2019 21 DUKE RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE While credit goes to all three levels of the Fighting Irish defense, the lineback- ers in particularly had maybe their best performance collectively this season with their combination of run fits as well as effectiveness in blitz situations and dropping into coverage. Fifth-year senior Asmar Bilal and junior Drew White both made critical stops on third-and-short or in pressure, while junior rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah's versatility was showcased at controlling the perimeter and also breaking up two passes in coverage. With 95 rushing yards despite getting sacked only once, Duke finished well under its 166-yard average. Running backs Deon Jackson and Mataeo Durant were held under 4.0 yards per carry on their 21 attempts, and the Irish for the second week in a row superbly contained a running threat at quarterback in fifth-year senior Quentin Harris (seven carries for 10 yards). ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame DUKE PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE This was easily the top mismatch going into the contest. Both of Duke's top receivers — freshman slot Jalon Calhoun and junior tight end Noah Gray — averaged less than 8.0 yards per catch, and the passing game was more horizontal than vertical. Meanwhile, Notre Dame has been top-10 caliber in pass efficiency defense for the second year in a row. Other than the Blue Devils' 29-yard touchdown pass to wideout Aaron Young in the second quarter, this disparity showed. Even with the pass to Young, Harris' 16 completions (in 28 attempts) averaged a meager 6.4 yards, and the defensive backs seldom were challenged deep. Moving the pocket did not help Harris either as the receivers almost never were able to generate much separa- tion. The 3.3 yards per pass attempt is not even good for a running game. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. DUKE RUN DEFENSE Last week we noted that Notre Dame's top running play might be senior quarterback Ian Book improvising off scrambles. This week, run designs for him by offensive coordinator Chip Long took advantage of Duke's scheme of playing just one safety high, and included 45- and 53-yard runs by Book through the middle on draws to complement his zone read skills while amassing a career high 139 yards on the ground. Interspersed for the backs were sprint draws and counters that kept the hard- charging Duke defense off balance. The 288 rushing yards pretty much doubled the 145-yard total Duke had allowed through its first eight contests. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. DUKE PASS DEFENSE Book has had better days overall passing (18 of 32 for only 181 yards with two interceptions — yet four touchdowns), but the early connections with his veteran tandem of senior wide receiver Chase Claypool and fifth-year senior wide receiver Chris Finke resulted in 81 percent of the passing yardage. An ideal balance was struck between finding Finke on the intermediate routes — highlighted by the duo converting three third-down situations on the first touchdown drive — with downfield shots to Claypool, who had 30-, 23- and 35-yard grabs to set up two more touchdowns. That effectiveness helped set up the huge success with running game, which had been several flights below stagnant the two previous weeks. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS Despite shanking a couple of punts, Duke punter Austin Parker saw them take huge bounces in his favor, and he ended up averaging 50 yards on his nine attempts, three inside the 20-yard line. However, one of those punts was returned 46 yards by Finke, and kicker AJ Reed missed a 44-yard field goal on the last play before halftime that would have cut the score to 21-10. Duke's fake punt to start the second half did pick up a first down on a penalty, but on the next play the Blue Devils turned the ball over. Junior kicker Jonathan Doerer converted his lone field goal attempt (34 yards) for the Irish. ADVANTAGE: Even THIRD-DOWN CONVERSIONS Another killer category for Duke, which was just 3 of 16 (18.8 percent) com- pared to Notre Dame's 9 of 17 (52.9 percent). During the first two touchdown drives, Book converted third-and-four, third- and-10 and third-and-11 situations with completions to Finke, and the second touchdown came against a blitz on third-and-goal from the 7-yard line when he found Claypool slanting into the end zone. Duke also cost itself with three defensive penalties on third down, and missed on two third-and-twos early. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame TURNOVERS Both teams had two, but Duke was not able to capitalize on theirs. The game- changer was Fighting Irish senior cornerback Troy Pride Jr. intercepting a Harris pass on the first play after the Blue Devils picked up a first down on a fake punt via pass interference. That turnover was then parlayed into a 70-yard touchdown drive that basi- cally salted away the game with a 28-7 lead in the third quarter. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame ANALYSIS Winning the line of scrimmage remains the heart and soul of championship football, and the Irish dominated on both sides to take control from the outset and never really were threatened after building a 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter. Most conspicuous was Duke's lack of firepower with the passing game that enabled Notre Dame to schematically employ even more help against the run. The defense has returned to form since the Michigan setback, while the offense continues to add parts and elements. ON PAPER REVISITED BY LOU SOMOGYI Sophomore running back Jahmir Smith (eight carries for 58 yards) was part of a by-committee approach in the backfield that contributed to Notre Dame's 288-yard rushing performance. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN