Game Prediction: #15 Notre Dame at Duke

Game Prediction: #15 Notre Dame at Duke

No. 15 Notre Dame heads to North Carolina this weekend to take on the Duke Blue Devils. It’s a chance for the Fighting Irish to earn a must-needed road win that will continue building its postseason resume.

We spent the week breaking down this matchup, and now it is prediction time.

PREDICTION: Notre Dame 27, Duke 13

I’ve been waiting all season for the Notre Dame offense to show up against an opponent with a pulse. Maybe it’s tomorrow against Duke’s quality defense, but I’m done predicting it until it actually happens.

Duke is a better all-around team than Virginia Tech, and the Blue Devils certainly have a vastly superior defense. The way Notre Dame has played on offense this season there is reason to be concerned about this game being much closer than it should.

What gives me comfort about Notre Dame winning this game, and why I picked a convincing Irish victory, is the play of Clark Lea’s defense. I was incredibly impressed with how the coaches and players on defense bounced back from the loss to Michigan. It showed maturity and conviction, and Duke has an average offense, which should result in the Irish dominating on that side of the ball.

If the Irish defense we saw for all but six quarters (second half of USC and the Michigan game) shows up the Blue Devils will have an incredibly hard time scoring enough to win the game. Notre Dame should be able to control the line of scrimmage and Duke lacks playmakers outside of running back Deon Jackson and quarterback Quentin Harris.

Duke has also been prone to turning the ball over and Notre Dame has been a pretty opportunistic defense this season in regards to forcing turnovers.

I see the Irish offense starting well and then cooling off, but the strong start will be enough for the defense to bury Duke. If Notre Dame can start fast on offense and keep it up this could be the convincing all-around game this team has yet to show against a Power 5 opponents, but it’s bound to happen at some point, right?

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED PREDICTION

All seven of the national writers for Sports Illustrated predicted a Notre Dame win. College football writer Laken Litman wrote the following about the matchup:

Notre Dame QB Ian Book has taken a hit the last two weeks, completing 32% of his passes in an embarrassing loss to Michigan and following that up with an uneven performance in a one-point win over Virginia Tech. Book scored the game-winning TD against the Hokies, but also went 29 of 53 for 336 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. The Fighting Irish are counting on Book to stay loose, keep his confidence and bounce back on the road vs. Duke on Saturday. The Blue Devils have lost three of their last four games, so the Irish hope to catch them at a vulnerable time.

In the comments section below I would love to hear your score prediction .... and why you think the game will play out that way.