Opponent Opinion: Notre Dame Viewpoint of Duke Opener
Sports Illustrated’s Irish Breakdown has previewed Saturday’s Duke-Notre Dame season opener from a Fighting Irish point of view. Here’s a quick look at their analysis of the matchup.
Duke D vs. Irish O: Publisher Brian Driskell looks at the key matchups when Notre Dame has the ball, including ends Chris Rumph and Victor Dimukeje against Liam Eichenberg and Robert Hainsey and corners Mark Gilbert and Josh Blackwell against Bn Skowronek and Javon McKinley.
Irish D vs. Duke O: Then there are the must-win matchups on the other side of the ball, including tight end Noah Gray against Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Shayne Simon, Jalon Calhoun against Shaun Crawford and Duke’s interior line against Notre Dame’s tackles.
Matchup podcast: Driskell and Irish Breakdown football analyst Vince DeDario go into detail on the matchup in their pregame podcast.
Betting recommendation: Notre Dame is favored by 20 in the opener. Irish Breakdown gambling expert J.P. Scott looks at that game and several others, including openers for Iowa State, Kansas State and North Carolina, in his picks column. He declares, “It’s pretty simple: Duke is not going to be very good this year,” and “Quite simply, Duke is going to have a tough time moving the ball against what should be one of the nation’s elite defenses.”
Expert film review: Former Fighting Irish and NFL quarterback Steve Beuerlein breaks down the film and looks at the matchups for Notre Dame-Duke, including his opinion of new Duke quarterback Chase Brice in a special analysis in the Irish Breakdown VIP section.
