For the second time this month Duke football will be playing its biggest game of the century.
Isn’t hyperbole the best word ever?
Then again, BIG GAME 1A wouldn’t be a thing if Duke hadn’t done so well in BIG GAME 1.
Duke is undefeated, Notre Dame has one excruciating loss, both teams are ranked, Game Day is coming to town and the nationally-televised game is all sold out.
Get out the popcorn and settle down. Unless you’re one of the 40,000 or so fans lucky enough to have a ticket.
Full disclosure. I’m not catholic, I’ve barely traveled through Indiana and I’ve never actually been a Notre Dame fan. But I grew up in the 1960s reading about Knute Rockne, the Four Horsemen, Win one for the Gipper, those Army-Notre Games of the Century, ancient history now but formative at the time.
Certainly, Notre Dame’s star has dimmed a bit lately compared to the SEC giants, Ohio State, Michigan, maybe some others. And I suspect their current players know as much about Frank Leahy and Angelo Bertelli as Duke’s current players know about Wallace Wade or Ace Parker.
But it’s still a magical name. Excluding an interim Notre Dame has had only one coach with a career losing record at a program that started playing in 1887.
That would be Joe Kuharich, who went 17-23 from 1959 through 1962.
Kuharich brought the Irish to Duke in 1961 and Bill Murray’s Devils handed them a 37-13 beatdown. That was the first time the two teams met at Duke. The next time was in 1966, Tom Harp’s first year at Duke. Notre Dame escaped with a 64-0 nail-biter.
That 1961 win remains the only time Duke has defeated Notre Dame at Wallace Wade. Duke and Notre Dame have never played when both teams were nationally ranked.
Until now.
How do the teams square up? Well, when Mike Elko calls Notre Dame “a complete football team,” no one can accuse him of coach speak. Despite losing to Ohio State in the final seconds and despite playing on the road, Notre Dame has been established a six-point, give or take, favorite, which may be a reflection of Notre Dame’s reputation but also a reflection that not everyone is convinced that Duke is for real.
Elko told the media Monday that Duke isn’t trying to run from the magnitude of the game.
“First time hosting game day and all the buzz that surrounds that. I told the guys this morning ‘we’re getting a lot of congratulations for Game Day coming here but I’d rather wait and get some congratulations for how we play the football game Saturday night.’ Just trying to stay focused on the task at hand, going out and having really good practices and getting the game plan down and knowing what we’re trying to execute and knowing the things that are going to be important for us to have success Saturday night. In this day and age you can’t insulate them unless you lock them in a closet.”
What does Duke have to do to pull off another upset over a national power?
Let’s start with Duke’s defense. Duke has allowed five touchdowns in four games. That’s impressive enough on the face of it. But Northwestern and Connecticut both scored against Duke’s reserves at the end of games whose outcome had long been decided. Clemson’s only scoring drive was all of 20 yards, after a muffed punt.
In other words, Duke has only allowed two long TD drives that mattered. Lafayette scored the first time they got the ball, to tie the game at 7-7. Northwestern mounted a long drive at the end of the first half to cut Duke’s lead to 17-7. Duke’s starting defense hasn’t allowed a point in the second half.
Does Duke have a chance to duplicate that against Notre Dame?
Well, Ohio State did down the stretch. But the Buckeyes have next-level talent all over the place. Duke’s defense is good but Duke is going to have to execute at a very high level to shut down an offense that put up 42 points against Navy, 45 against NC State.
Notre Dame’s offense is keyed by 6-8, 320-pound left tackle Joe Alt, who might be the best offensive tackle in college football. They rotate a string of outstanding running backs. Orchestrating the whole thing is former Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman, who has completed over 70 percent of his passes so far this season.
“Offensively, it starts with the offensive line,” Elko said. “It’s going to be the biggest offensive line that we’ve played against. They’re massive. They’re very well coached. They know what they’re trying to do and execute in the run game and they’re able to create holes for a stable of run backs.”
If anything, their defense is just as daunting, at least when they have 11 men on the field. But the Wolfpack did crack the code for 24 points, so it can be done.
“Defensively, they’re playing at an elite level,” Elko said. “I think they’re pressuring the quarterback, they’re setting edges in the run game, they’re not allowing people to run the ball, they’re suffocating in coverage. Their second level is extremely athletic.”
Duke’s offensive line is going to have to do better than they did against Connecticut, when they were called for three holds and two false starts and struggled against the Huskies’ front six. Running backs Jordan Waters and Jaquez Moore combined for 26 yards on 14 rushes.
I’m not Nostradamus but I suspect 1.9 yards per carry isn’t going to cut it.
“I didn’t think we ran the ball as well as we’re capable off,” Elko acknowledged. “Obviously, that’s something we need to address this week and make sure we clean up. We need to sustain blocks more, need to control the line of scrimmage a little bit better than we did.”
The holding calls?
“We’ve got to do a better job with our hand placement and hand technique.”
Still, Riley Leonard did his thing, with his arm and his legs. Quarterbacks don’t play against each other, of course, but Leonard versus Hartman could go a long way towards deciding this one.
“I thought we were able to get the passing game going on a wet, windy day,” Elko said, “which is always a challenge. We did it to the level we needed to win the game. We have a lot of confidence in Riley throwing the football.”
Duke has played four games so far, Notre Dame five; the Irish opened in a week early against Navy, in Ireland, no less. Neither Leonard nor Hartman has thrown an interception this season.
Does that change Saturday night?
“There’s not a lot you can throw at him [Hartman] that he hasn’t seen before. I wish we were playing a true freshman quarterback making his first start but that’s not what we have. We’ve got to do some different things to try to make him uncomfortable, to try and figure out ways to not make it real easy for him, to at least challenge him and not allow him to have success as often as he’d like. And then we’ve got to attack the football like we always do. In a game like this it probably becomes more important that you protect it. Winning the turnover battle is a two-way street. If you don’t turn it over, you can’t lose it.”
Dukie certainly has one advantage going into Saturday night. Notre Dame and Ohio State played a brutal, 60-minute game, while Duke was able to put Connecticut away early and rest its key players down the stretch. Elko said cornerback Myles Jones could have played had he been needed and should be available this week and offensive lineman Justin Pickett is practicing and getting up to speed, although we were told the same thing last week.
A big game to be sure. But also another step on a continuum of building a sustainable program.
“I did not take the job with the hope and expectation that we could be a middle of the road program,” Elko summed up. “That’s not why I came here. That’s not how I’m wired. Did I anticipate in game five of year two, that we would be on this stage? No, of course not. That’s a credit to our kids and what they’ve bought into and how hard they’ve worked and how much they’ve put into this thing.”
Excellent article! Got me fired and I’ll be there Saturday!
I’m one of the 40,000 or so lucky fans with a ticket. See you in Wallace Wade Stadium Saturday night.