Notre Dame football: 3 Duke players to watch on offense against the Irish
By Matt Clark
The Duke Blue Devils travel to South Bend, as the Notre Dame football team kicks off the 2020 season. We examine three Duke players to watch on offense.
Last November, the Notre Dame football team traveled to Durham, North Carolina to take on the Duke Blue Devils. The Irish would emerge victorious with a resounding 38-7 win. The win would propel the Irish to a strong finish as the offense seemed to gain continuity in that game.
During that game, Ian Book would lead the Irish with 181 passing yards and four touchdowns, to go along with 139 rushing yards in what was a balanced offensive attack from the Notre Dame offense.
The Notre Dame defense would stymie the Duke offense, holding quarterback Quentin Harris to 102 passing yards and one touchdown and limiting the Blue Devils rushing game to a total of 95 yards on the ground.
While it would be easy to look at last year’s performance and think that Notre Dame should see similar results against Duke when they open the 2020 season up in South Bend on September 12th, a lot has changed since their last matchup.
The Notre Dame football team lost starters Chase Claypool, Cole Kmet, Julian Okwara, Khalid Kareem, Troy Pride Jr., Alohi Gilman, Jalen Elliott, Chris Finke, and Tony Jones Jr. to the NFL. Duke had their starting quarterback from last season, Quentin Harris, graduate.
While the Irish come into this game as the 10th ranked team in the nation and a heavy favorite, the dynamics of both teams have changed a great deal, which could vastly impact the outcome of the game. Additionally, the lack of practice due to the COVID-19 pandemic could impact how these teams look in their first game of the season.
As the 2020 season begins for the Notre Dame football team, we examine three key offensive players to watch for the Duke Blue Devils, as they take on the Fighting Irish this Saturday.