Duke notes: Fourth downs killed Blue Devils at Notre Dame

Fourth downs were devastating downs for Duke in its opener.

Notre Dame excelled on a couple of fourth downs that were huge momentum builders as the No. 10 Irish defeated Duke 27-13 in the season opener Saturday afternoon at Notre Dame Stadium.

“We’ve just got to finish better,” Blue Devils defensive end Chris Rumph II said. “The recap is we’ve got to be locked in mentally.”

Notre Dame didn’t gain a first down until its fourth possession. That drive appeared to stall anyway. Instead, punter Jay Bramblett rambled 14 yards on a fake. The Irish turned that into a 96-yard touchdown march.

Duke coach David Cutcliffe said the Blue Devils were setting up for a return. He said the Irish, who were facing fourth-and-8 from their own 21, must have detected an opening from a previous punting situation.

“We tried to get away with it twice and they caught us,” Cutcliffe said.

Rumph said, “You have to give them credit for making that call and converting.”

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said it was worth taking a chance.

“My thought process was I hope to heck it works,” he said. “That was my first thought process. It was there. We saw it on film. We felt like it was there. It was one of those that you needed to call it in a very vulnerable area, in other words when you’re backed up. Jay’s a very good athlete. You saw he had to cut back to make that first down. I felt very confident he was going to get an opportunity to convert that. We just needed a little bit of momentum and I felt it was the right time to make that call.”

Cutcliffe said the extended possession resulted in the Duke defense tiring during that stretch.

The Irish scored their second touchdown on a fourth-and-1 play. Kyren Williams burst for a 26-yard run, helping expand the lead to 17-6 in the third quarter.

Notre Dame finished 2-for-2 on fourth-down conversions.

Kicking it right

Duke’s new first-string kicking specialists had good first-quarter moments.

Redshirt freshman Charlie Ham connected on his first career field-goal attempt with a 29-yarder for the game’s first points. Ham’s action last year came only on five kickoffs.

Redshirt freshman punter Porter Wilson’s first punt went for 60 yards, with just a 3-yard return for the Irish. His next attempt in the final minute of the quarter went for 51 yards and was downed at the Notre Dame 4.

“I think our young specialists can be outstanding players,” Cutcliffe said in initial impressions following the game.

Schedule change

Duke will play its next road game sooner than expected because of a schedule change announced earlier Saturday by the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Blue Devils will go to Virginia on Sept. 26 instead of Nov. 14. The change came about with Virginia Tech’s positive coronavirus tests and subsequent quarantining leading to the postponement of its game with Virginia on Sept. 19.

Cutcliffe said he wishes that the change hadn’t become public Saturday morning because he found his players discussing it during the pregame meal.

“Distractions have been more than a handful,” the coach said of the lead-up to the season in general.

Cutcliffe learned of the schedule shifts Friday night and chose not to share the information with players or staff.

Duke and Virginia both had Sept. 26 as an open date. It will be Virginia’s opener.

With the latest change, the Blue Devils will be the opening opponent for three teams. Boston College begins its season next Saturday at Duke.

Not done yet

Duke center Jack Wohlabaugh announced Friday that he intends to play the 2021 season for the Blue Devils.The redshirt senior was lost for this season with a torn right anterior cruciate ligament sustained in a Sept. 1 practice.

Wohlabaugh was elected a team captain by his Duke teammates. He said in a social media post that he plans to make an impact this season in ways off the field.

“Although unable to be in the trenches with my teammates, I will do my best to help them be the best versions of themselves every step of the way,” Wohlabaugh’s announcement said.

He has made 18 career starts.

This story was originally published September 12, 2020 at 7:15 PM.