If Notre Dame was hoping to come out fast in its opener, the first quarter was anything but, resulting in a 3-0 Duke lead.
The Irish allowed the Blue Devils to get on the outskirts of field-goal range on the game’s first possession before forcing a turnover on downs. The next time Duke had the ball, Chase Brice hit Eli Pancol for a 55-yard completion, and it was lackluster tackling execution that allowed Pancol to get to the Notre Dame 8-yard line. Though the Irish held the Blue Devils to a 29-yard field goal by Charlie Ham, the first of his collegiate career, it was a disappointing drive given that it started on the Duke 10.
The offense looked even worse, going three-and-out on its first three possessions. The lowlight came when Ian Book got sacked by Rocky Shelton II for a 10-yard loss. Just a wild guess here, but you probably need to pick up first downs to have a chance at winning a football game. Anyone wanna argue that?