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Notre Dame Football: 5 takeaways from the Irish victory over Duke

By Matt Clark

SOUTH BEND, IN - NOVEMBER 23: Notre Dame Fighting Irish players run down the field following team introductions before a game against the Boston College Eagles at Notre Dame Stadium on November 23, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated Boston College 40-7. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - NOVEMBER 23: Notre Dame Fighting Irish players run down the field following team introductions before a game against the Boston College Eagles at Notre Dame Stadium on November 23, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated Boston College 40-7. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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The Notre Dame football team won its first game of the 2020 season 27-13 over Duke. We give you the five takeaways from the Irish victory.

The Notre Dame football team opened its 2020 season with a 27-13 victory over the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday. In what is already shaping up to be an odd season in college football due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the game against the Blue Devils saw a lot of unexpected results for the Irish.

After dominating Duke last season on the road by the score of 38-7 and coming as the 10th-ranked team in the nation, most believed that Notre Dame would dominate Duke in South Bend to open the season. While the Irish would emerge victorious by a two-touchdown difference, they far from dominated the Blue Devils.

The Notre Dame defense looked solid throughout the game, but the offense struggled to find consistency, failing to move the ball on a number of drives. In fact, eight of their 13 drives in the game lasted four plays or less. The five drives where they were able to run more than four plays resulted in scoring, which underlines the importance of being able to move the ball for the Irish offense.

Most experts believed this would be a pass-first offense that would lean heavily on the arm of quarterback Ian Book. However, it was the ground game that was the difference-maker for the Notre Dame football team against Duke.

While some of the inconsistency of the offense could be chalked up to the fact that it was their first game, and some blame could be placed on the fact that a number of key offensive weapons were unavailable due to injury, there is no doubt that the passing game is in need of improvement moving forward.

That said, while it wasn’t always pretty, the Notre Dame football team was good enough to pull out the victory against Duke. They were extremely solid in the running game, on the defensive side of the ball, and on special teams. If they are able to make the necessary improvements in their passing game, they could be an extremely talented and dangerous team this season.

With that in mind, here are the five takeaways from the Notre Dame football team’s victory against the Duke Blue Devils:

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