No. 11 Notre Dame football rallies in final minutes to thwart No. 17 Duke’s upset bid
This time, No. 11 Notre Dame produced the last-minute heroics.
One game after losing on the game’s final play from scrimmage, the Irish scored on Audric Estime’s 30-yard touchdown run with 31 seconds left to rally past No. 17 Duke, 21-14, Saturday night at Wallace Wade Stadium.
Leading 14-13, Duke had Notre Dame (5-1) facing fourth and 16 from the Duke 47 on the Irish’s final drive. But Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman scrambled 17 yards for a first down, then spiked the ball to stop the clock with 38 seconds left.
On the next play, Estime scampered up the middle for the touchdown.
A further concern for Duke (4-1) is quarterback Riley Leonard had to be helped from the field with a right ankle injury after he was sacked on Duke’s final play from scrimmage. He was helped to the medical tent, then left the field using crutches after the game.
Notre Dame kept Duke off the scoreboard until the third quarter. That’s when the Blue Devils finally unleashed their rushing offense and Jordan Waters scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 3:36 left in the third quarter.
Duke took the lead on Leonard’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Moore.
But the Irish, a 17-14 loser to Ohio State a week earlier, rallied in the final minute.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
Duke deals with Barton’s absence
The Blue Devils played the game without their best offensive lineman and, arguably, their second most valuable offensive player in left tackle Graham Barton. After suffering an upper-body injury in last week’s 41-7 win at Connecticut, Barton’s streak of 29 consecutive starts at left tackle ended.
But playing without the all-ACC tackle, Duke eventually found a way to run the ball anyway.
Redshirt freshman Brian Parker filled in for Barton at left tackle. Duke started center Scott Elliott and shuffled Jacob Monk, Justin Pickett and Maurice McIntyre at the guard positions with Monk also handling snaps at center.
The unit struggled to open holes in the first half, when Duke gained only 38 rushing yards on 15 attempts.
But, in the second half, Duke’s line imposed their will to fuel Duke’s second-half rally to win.
The Blue Devils finished with 189 rushing yards, with 151 of them coming in the second half. Duke broke off runs covering 34 yards (by running back Jaquez Moore) and 33 yards (by Leonard).
In the passing game, Leonard was only sacked twice, with one coming on the desperation attempt where he was injured.
It was a gutsy performance but not good enough to produce a win.
Special teams hurt Blue Devils
The headline failures on special teams were kicker Todd Pelino’s two missed field goals in the first half. Duke’s defense had kept the team in the game, allowing only 10 points. Those missed six points changed the game’s dynamic
But Duke’s special teams had a couple of other issues that helped tip the game in Notre Dame’s favor.
Notre Dame’s first drive of the game stalled at the Duke 47. On fourth-and-4, Notre Dame lined up for a punt but the ball was snapped instead to Jeremiyah Love, a running back who scampered 34 yards to the Duke 13. Notre Dame scored a touchdown two plays later to take a 7-0 lead.
The second mishap was a missed opportunity at forcing a turnover.
With Notre Dame up 10-0 early in the third quarter, Duke punted the ball toward Irish returner Chris Tyree. But Tyree muffed the punt at the Irish 33. Multiple Duke players had a chance to fall on the ball, but Notre Dame’s Ramon Henderson recovered at the 30.
Instead of Duke having the ball deep in Irish territory, Notre Dame marched down and added a Spencer Shrader field goal to lead 13-0.
Duke was tough up front, until it wasn’t
Facing one of the strongest offensive lines in the country, the Blue Devils defensive front proved a worthy foe.
Notre Dame, which entered the night averaging 5.58 yards per carry this season and was at 3.6 yards per carry before their game-winning drive, which started at its own 2.
But Hartman’s 17-yard scramble, followed by Estime’s 30-yard touchdown run turned the game toward Notre Dame.
This story was originally published September 30, 2023 at 7:14 PM.