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Notre Dame Football: 3 opponent players to keep an eye on Duke’s defense

By Andrew Hall

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 09: Chris Rumph II #96 of the Duke Blue Devils tackles Jahmir Smith #34 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the second half of their game at Wallace Wade Stadium on November 09, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 09: Chris Rumph II #96 of the Duke Blue Devils tackles Jahmir Smith #34 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the second half of their game at Wallace Wade Stadium on November 09, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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Notre Dame opens its truncated 2020 campaign against Duke on Saturday.

The Notre Dame football team faces a solid Duke defensive line that will challenge Notre Dame’s talented offensive line. In addition, Ian Book will need to keep an eye on Safety Michael Carter. Here are three Duke defenders to keep an eye on during Saturday’s.

Chris Rumph (Redshirt Jr.) – Defensive End

Rumph lead the Blue Devils in tackles for loss last year with 13.5 TFLs. His 2019 performance garnered first-team All-America honors from Pro Football Focus and second-team accolades from Sports Illustrated. In ACC conference awards, writers voted Rumph to the third team All-ACC. Athlon listed Rumph among the second-team All-ACC defensive linemen.

Regardless of the praise from several publications, Rumph will be among the best defensive ends that the Irish face in 2020. Last year, against Notre Dame, he was extremely ineffective – only collecting 2 assisted tackles. He hopes to perform much better against the Irish this year.

Victor Dimukeje (Senior) – Defensive End

Dimukeje has started every single game since stepping onto Duke’s campus in 2017. Last year, he earned second-team All-ACC honors while leading the Devils in sacks with 8.5 sacks. Overall, the Defensive End from Baltimore, Maryland finished with 41 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and 10 quarterback hurries.

Despite Rumph’s 2019 success, Dimukeje is definitely Duke’s best and most experienced Defensive Linemen. He will challenge the Irish offensive line. Last year, Dimukeje tallied 5 tackles against Notre Dame with no tackles for loss. If Notre Dame wants to find success, they will need to neutralize Dimukeje and Rumph like they did last year.

Michael Carter (Senior) – Safety

In 2019, Carter finished with 94 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 16 passes broken up and 2 interceptions. Similar to Dimukeje, Carter is extremely experienced. He has started 25 games over the course of three seasons.

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Athlon named Carter to the fourth-team All-ACC team. Last year against the Irish, Carter finished with 7 tackles, an interception and a tackle for loss. Clearly, he had an excellent game against Notre Dame despite the Devils allowing 38 points.

If Duke hopes to pull the upset, the Blue Devils need all three of these players to play up to their potential. If not, the Notre Dame football team will roll to another 30-plus game performance.

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