Duke's David Cutcliffe Explains Why Notre Dame's Fake Punt Worked

Key play gave Irish offense new life on early drive

An early key in Duke’s 27-13 loss at Notre Dame was a fake punt the Irish called at their own 21. Duke had stopped Notre Dame on three-and outs on their first three drives, with the Irish gaining a total of zero yards through the first quarter. Duke appeared to have stopped Notre Dame again, when the fake hit, extending a drive that ended in a touchdown.

“We were trying to double and get a return,” Duke coach David Cutcliffe said of the approach to the punt. “We didn’t force the edge. We forced through the middle, and they did a good job. They’d seen it on the previous punt. We tried to get away with it twice, and they caught us.”

Cutcliffe didn’t think the play shifted the game’s momentum, but it still had an impact.

“I just think it was a big play,” he said. “What happens is it’s hard for any defense when you convert a fourth down, certainly with a fake punt converting one. It’s hard to go back on the field with the same energy. The biggest part of it is I think our defense got tired through that period.”

Despite the loss, Cutcliffe was encouraged by Duke’s performance.

“I’ll start on defense. We’re pretty veteran up front. I thought the linebackers played well. They made plays. That was an area we wanted to see happen early. I think the secondary is going to be outstanding. We’ve got to continue to grow our depth. I thought some of our young people played well. We rotated and tried to play a lot of people. I’ve seen them every day, and I think we can be outstanding there. Our young specialists can be outstanding players—placekicker, punter, return game. It all is there in the kicking game. Offensively, we’ve got backs. We’ve got tight ends. We’ve got receivers. We’ve got quarterbacks. Speaking of Chase (Brice)—we’ve got a quarterback who is going to make lot of plays for us. I think we’ve got an exciting time in front of us. I really do.”