Duke at #10 Notre Dame
As part of the shuffling schools and conferences have done in the wake of COVID-19, Notre Dame is going to play an ACC schedule in the year ahead. That begins with a matchup against Duke University on their opening week of the season.
Brian Kelly’s tenure in South Bend can be measured in two wholly different ways. He has a 33-6 record over the past three seasons, best among Notre Dame coaches since the days of Lou Holtz. But where Holtz delivered national championships, Kelly has yet to make a run of his own. Perhaps this year the Fighting Irish finally break through.
Ian Book returns for another season as the Notre Dame starting quarterback. The senior passer threw for 3,304 yards and 34 touchdowns last year, against just six interceptions. Kelly demands a lot from his quarterbacks, but speaks highly of Book: “What’s great leadership? It’s when you battle through adversity. After the Michigan (loss), for him to lead our team to six consecutive wins shows some resilience and leadership.”
Book will enjoy the protection of five returning starters up front, as the entire offensive line returns for 2020. Left tackle Liam Eichenberg, left guard Aaron Banks, center Jarrett Patterson, right guard Tommy Kraemer and right tackle Robert Hainsey have a chance to return the Joe Moore Award to South Bend for the first time since 2017, which would make Notre Dame the first team to win the award twice.
On defense, the Fighting Irish need to replace pass rushers Khalid Kareem, Julian Okwara and Jamir Jones, who combined for 14 sacks a season ago. Ade Ogundeji, a senior, will be looked at to step up in that role. Linebackers Jeremia Owusu-Koramoah and Drew White return and form a talented tandem at the second level.
For the Duke University Blue Devils, they’ll turn to Chase Brice, a transfer from Clemson, to run their offense. During his time with the Tigers Brice completed 60 percent of his passes with nine touchdowns, and helped Clemson rally against Syracuse back in 2018 to preserve their unblemished record.
While David Cutcliffe is known for developing quarterbacks, the running game might be the focus this year down in Durham. Running back Deon Jackson is the lead back, and he tallied 641 yards and six touchdowns on 172 carries, but Mataeo Durant will also be called on to carry the rock, as he was last year to the tune of 461 yards on 97 carries. The run game will also be bolstered by four returning starters up front including center Jack Wohlabaugh, the senior in the middle. When Brice goes to the sky, he’ll likely look for sophmore Jalon Calhoun, who caught 46 passes a year ago.
On defense, the Blue Devils run a lot of three-safety packages, and return four of the five starters in the secondary from a season ago. Cornerbacks Josh Blackwell and Leonard Johnson return, as do safeties Marquis Waters and Michael Carter II. Only Dylan Singleton and his 89 tackles are gone from a year ago. There is potential for some position movement as Mark Gilbert, who was a first-team All-ACC selection back in 2017, returns after missing the past two seasons due to a hip injury suffered in 2018.
Up front, Duke will be replacing a lot of players, but defensive end Victor Dimukeje and his 8.5 sacks from 2019 are back for the upcoming campaign.
Matchup to watch: Dimukeje against Eichenberg is probably the premier matchup in this contest.
Draft prospects to watch: We have seen some unsung quarterbacks rocket up draft boards recently, such as Mitchell Trubisky and Joe Burrow. Book is a darkhorse candidate for a similar rise should he perform at a high level in 2020. Eichenberg, Kraemer and Hainsey are also worth watching on offense, as is Owusu-Koramoah, White and cornerback Shaun Crawford on the defense. For Duke, Dimukeje and the entire secondary is worth watching.
Scheme notes: Kelly’s offense incorporates Book’s athleticism in a number of ways. There are potential designed runs, the offense utilizes a number of zone read plays and even rolls the quarterback outside of the pocket on passing plays. But in addition to the design elements, the quarterback can make a defense pay when pressure forces him to pull the football down. On this play late against USC in a close contest, Book turns a near-sack into a big play for the Notre Dame offense: