DURHAM, N.C. — Notre Dame has a chance to get right back into the College Football Playoff conversation a week after a tough loss to Ohio State. The No. 11 Fighting Irish (4-1) take on the No. 17 Duke Blue Devils (4-0) in ABC’s Saturday night primetime matchup.
Follow along below for live updates.
First quarter
• Duke won the toss and deferred. Quarterback Sam Hartman and the Notre Dame offense up first.
• Notre Dame crossed over into Duke territory but the Fighting Irish faced a fourth and short. They lined up to punt, but a direct snap went to running back Jeremiyah Love. He took the ball around the right end for 34 yards. Fellow running back Audric Estimé scored a touchdown two plays later. The Fighting Irish came out swinging.
SCORE: Irish 7, Blue Devils 0 with 11:00 left in the quarter
• Duke made a statement by going right after Irish corner Benjamin Morrison on the first platy of the game. QB Riley Leonard connected with Jordan Moore for a 27-yard gain.
• Later in Duke’s first drive, an offsides penalty negated an incomplete pass on third and 10, and Duke got a first down on the subsequent third and five. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman was not happy about the sequence. Linebacker Marist Liufau made a few plays, though, and Duke ended up missing a short field goal to stay scoreless on the home side.
• Hartman found tight end Mitchell Evans twice on third down for a total of 35 yards, but a false start penalty prior to a 53-yard field goal attempt took the FG unit off the field for Notre Dame. The Irish punted down to the Duke 12 instead. Freeman again was not thrilled with another pre-snap penalty.
• Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts picked off a Leonard pass and returned it to the Duke 13, but three poor plays from the Irish offense wasted a key opportunity to break the game open. There was also another false start in there before the third down. Hartman was sacked for a short loss to end the quarter.
Second quarter
• Spencer Shrader made a 35-yard field goal to start the frame.
SCORE: Irish 10, Blue Devils 0
• The Notre Dame pass rush is on its game tonight. Javontae Jean-Baptiste’s first Irish sack completed a three-and-out to give the Notre Dame offense the ball back at its own 41.
• Evans had one heck of a catch and run to get Notre Dame deep into Duke territory, but the drive stalled and Shrader missed a 37-yard field goal to keep the score 10-0 with less than seven minutes left in the first half.
• The Irish defense is on its game. The front is getting pressure on Leonard, constantly making him hurry through his throws. Leonard is just 6-of-14 for 70 yards. The Irish got the ball back with 5:05 until halftime. A touchdown here would go a long way in determining the flow of the second half and ultimately the final score.
• Duke sustained a drive deep into Irish territory in the waning moments of the first half, but the Blue Devils missed a 25-yard field goal as time expired.
Third quarter
• Duke went three and out to start the second half. Jean-Baptiste had a nice tipped pass on first down to set the tone for the series.
• Chris Tyree inexplicably dove for the punted ball, and Duke nearly recovered it off his hands, but the Irish eventually fell on the ball to avoid total disaster. Tyree caught a 22-yard pass a few plays later to make up for the mental mistake.
• Notre Dame converted on fourth and two via a Hartman scramble, but Duke brought pressure on the next third down and Hartman couldn’t get a pass off for Tobias Merriweather in the end zone. A delay of game penalty pushed a Shrader attempt from 40 to 45 yards, but he made it anyway.
SCORE: Irish 13, Blue Devils 0 with 9:17 left in the quarter
• Duke used a scamper of 34 yards from Jaquez Moore to get into plus territory. A huge fourth down conversion on a short pass from Leonard to Sahmir Hagans kept the drive alive. A few plays later, Duke punched the ball into the end zone on a goal line plunge to make things super interesting in Durham. Important to note: Notre Dame had another offsides penalty late in the drive. The Irish, at this point in the game, had nine penalties to Duke’s zero.
SCORE: Irish 13, Blue Devils 7 with 3:36 left in the quarter
• The quarter ends with a 16-yard pickup from Hartman to Evans to get the Irish to midfield.
Fourth quarter
• Notre Dame punter Bryce McFerson nearly downed a punt inside the one yard line, but upon review it was deemed the ball crossed into the end zone. Duke got it at the 20 instead.
• Duke gained 26 and 33 yards on back to back plays. Big plays are beginning to burden the Notre Dame defense. The Blue Devils are in the red zone with a chance to take their first lead of the game.
• A targeting infraction on Jordan Botelho took Duke into an in-goal situation. The Blue Devils scored on a play-action pass a few plays later to take their first lead of the night.
SCORE: Blue Devils 14, Irish 13 with 9:17 left
• Notre Dame went three and out, and now Duke is driving trying to end the game. The Irish blitzed off the edge, and Leonard let the play develop long enough to run to the blitz area and pick up a first down on third and medium. The clock is under four minutes to go.
• Leonard pooch punted to the Notre Dame five. The Irish needed to go 95 yards to win the game, and that’s just what they did. On fourth and 16 Hartman scrambled for 17 yards, and on the play following a spike Estimé scored on a 30 yard run. Hartman connected with Rico Flores Jr. on a two-point conversion.
SCORE: Irish 21, Blue Devils 14 with 31 seconds left
• On second and five from the Duke 30, the Notre Dame forced and recovered a fumble. Game over.
