Game Observations - Defense: Notre Dame 38, Duke 7
Notre Dame had an absolutely brilliant and dominant performance in the team’s 38-7 blowout victory over Duke.
The Blue Devils had 15 possessions in the game, and seven of those possessions ended with three-and-outs, and another ended with a Duke fumble after just one play. Duke converted a fake punt early in the third quarter to avoid another three-and-out, but Notre Dame intercepted the very next pass.
Duke finished the game with just 197 yards of offense, and its only touchdown drive of the game traveled just 39 yards. It was Duke’s worst offensive performance since October of 2017. Notre Dame dominated Duke in every facet, holding the Blue Devils to just 95 rushing yards (3.2 YPC) and 102 passing yards on 31 attempts.
*** Notre Dame’s defensive line controlled the action from beginning to end. It didn’t do a great job getting pressure in the pass game, but the line was absolutely dominant against the Duke run game. Notre Dame spent almost the entire game pushing Duke back, which completely threw off the timing of the Duke ground attack.
*** Senior end Khalid Kareem had an active game for the Irish. Kareem was stout on the edge against the run, getting a constant push when the ball was run in his direction. He did a good job closing down on the backside and his perimeter hustle stood out several times. He and Asmar Bilal helped blow up a quarterback draw, and Kareem had a strong edge rush that resulted in a Duke hold, which helped stall that drive, as did his pass break up on the very next snap.
*** Senior end Julian Okwara left with an injury in the second quarter, but the veteran was playing good football up to that point. Okwara was more physical in the run game that we’ve seen in recent games, and he had an excellent contain pressure that forced a third-down incompletion.
*** Senior end Ade Ogundeji also had a stout run performance for Notre Dame, and he had one of the better pressures in the win. Ogundeji was a force on the edge in the run game, giving the Irish defense strong edge setting even when Kareem wasn’t in the game. He had a powerful pass rush in the third quarter that forced an incomplete pass on fourth down, getting the Irish offense the ball back.
*** Senior end Jamir Jones was also quite active in the game. He failed to squeeze down on a cutback run that opened up a run lane for 19 yards on the first play of the third quarter, but other than that he was solid.
*** The three-technique position for Notre Dame was outstanding in this game, with both junior Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa and sophomore Jayson Ademilola making a lot of plays up the middle. Both showed excellent quickness off the ball, got constant penetration and were highly disruptive. Tagovailoa-Amosa seemed to be deep into the backfield on almost every snap, and it was almost impossible for the Duke offense to get anything going between the tackles due to the play we saw from him and Ademilola, and thanks to how physical the ends were.
*** Ademilola had an outstanding early third-down run stop on a twist where he looped outside and was still able to close on the back for the stop. That requires good timing at the snap, but you have to be pretty athletic and instinctive to make that play. He also had a pressure that forced the quarterback out towards Okwara on a third-down incompletion.
*** Bilal and LB Drew White were all over the field tonight for Notre Dame. The duo played extremely well in the box, attacking gaps and fitting well behind the defensive line. Both had a number of quality sideline stops. White played with a lot of force in the game and Bilal made plays in coverage, he made plays at the line of scrimmage, on the perimeter and he had a pressure that ended with him drilling the quarterback.
*** Junior rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah got caught inside on an early swing pass, but after that he played really clean football, and when he plays clean football he’s outstanding. Owusu-Koramoah was active on the perimeter against the quick screens and outside runs, but he also made a number of strong plays in coverage. His technique on a third-quarter pass break up was flawless. He read the slant route, cut underneath and was able to shoot his hands for the breakup without using his left hand for leverage. His athleticism in space gave Duke problems all night long.
*** Notre Dame’s safeties had a strong night, and all three factored into the victory. Their range against the run was impressive.
*** Senior Alohi Gilman looked like the guy we saw last year. He combined disciplined play with being aggressive, and it allowed him to make a number of key plays. Duke executed a third-down tunnel screen extremely well on its fourth series and was about to pick up a first down until Gilman flew downhill and made the stop in space.
*** On the previous play, freshman Kyle Hamilton had an excellent open-field tackle that resulted in a 1-yard gain. If Hamilton doesn’t make that open-field tackle that would have been a huge gain for Duke because there was no one behind the talented freshman. Senior Jalen Elliott had a key third-down pass break up and played good downhill football as well. He got beat on one pass route, but overall his coverage was top-notch.
*** Senior CB Donte Vaughn got sloppy with his turn technique in the second quarter, and the result was Duke beating him for a 29-yard touchdown. Outside of that Vaughn played well. He had a strong fourth-down pass break up on a crossing route, he tackled well in space and his downfield coverage was strong for much of the night.
*** Senior CB Troy Pride Jr. had one missed tackle in the first half that I didn’t like, but like Vaughn, outside of that mistake he was quite good. His interception was a result of Pride keeping his eyes downfield on the quarterback, staying in his pedal, not rushing his turn and then jumping the route as soon as he saw the quarterback release the ball. Duke tried to go at Pride multiple times, but it had little success.
*** Sophomore CB TaRiq Bracy had a strong night in coverage. He was aggressive, confident and played the ball extremely well.
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