Before the Boxscore: Notre Dame and Duke Match Up Numbers for Saturday Night Battle

Coming off their first loss of the 2023 campaign, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish now face another challenge with a nighttime road matchup against the Duke Blue Devils. This meeting presents a different challenge from the four clashes of the past two decades when the trio of Irish wins came by an average of 22 points.

That’s because the Blue Devils currently sport an undefeated record and will have a hyped-up crowd behind them. In many ways, the game mirrors Notre Dame’s other trip to North Carolina earlier this month, when they battled through a lengthy weather delay to defeat the North Carolina State Wolfpack amid a hostile crowd.

Duke vs. Notre Dame Opponent Stats

	Duke	Notre Dame Opponents
Scoring: Points/Game	37.3	12.8
First Downs: Total	91	77
First Downs: Rushing – Passing – By Penalty	35 – 48 – 8	29 – 34 – 14
Rushing: Yards / Attempt	5.65	3.18
Rushing: Attempts – Yards – TD	142 – 802 – 15	175 – 556 – 5
Passing: Rating	146.94	91.37
Passing: Yards	896	747
Passing: Attempts – Completions – Interceptions – TD	109 – 75 – 0 – 3	135 – 64 – 5 – 2
Total Offense: Yards / Play	6.76	4.2
Total Offense: Plays – Yards	251 – 1698	310 – 1303
Punt Returns: Yards / Return	14.57	8
Punt Returns: Returns – Yards – TD	7 – 102 – 0	7 – 56 – 0
Kickoff Returns: Yards / Return	13.33	27
Kickoff Returns: Returns – Yards – TD	3 – 40 – 0	7 – 189 – 0
Punting: Yards / Punt	52.9	42.65
Punting: Punts – Yards	10 – 529	26 – 1109
Interceptions: Returns – Yards – TD	4 – 5 – 0	0 – 0 – 0
Fumbles: Number – Lost	4 – 3	9 – 0
Penalties: Number – Yards	20 – 144	23 – 180
Time of Possession / Game	30:01.00	28:46.00
3rd Down Conversions: Conversion %	44.44%	37.66%
3rd Down Conversions: Attempts – Conversions	45 – 20	77 – 29
4th Down Conversions: Conversion %	57.14%	60%
4th Down Conversions: Attempts – Conversions	7 – 4	10 – 6
Red Zone: Success %	84.21%	56.25%
Red Zone: Attempts – Scores	19 – 16	16 – 9
Field Goals: Success %	71.40%	50%
Field Goals: Attempts – Made	7 – 5	10 – 5
PAT Kicking: Success %	100%	100%
PAT Kicking: Attempts – Made	18 – 18	7 – 7
2-Point Conversions: Success %	100%	–
2-Point Conversions: Attempts – Made	1 – 1	0 – 0

Battle Behind Center

Sam Hartman continues to deliver consistent play for Notre Dame, in part because the offensive line’s only misstep in 2023 was a bumpy performance at North Carolina State. That resulted in four sacks, yet the Irish still emerged with a comfortable win. His array of potential weapons seems to expand on a weekly basis, whether it’s the emerging depth in the running game or the 15 different receivers that have caught a pass in the first five games. Hartman can’t match his Duke counterpart when it comes to mobility but his skill in adjusting to big-game atmospheres should go a long way on Saturday night.

One of those aforementioned similarities to the Wolfpack in this clash is the presence of a mobile quarterback. Riley Leonard has the size needed as a signal-caller but he also can move with the ball. He actually has more touchdowns on runs than through Duke’s passing attack, where he’s again focusing on his two main targets, Jordan Moore and Jalon Calhoun. He hasn’t thrown any interceptions this year, partly because he’s only been sacked twice. If the Irish can’t bring him down, they definitely need to deliver pressure to keep him in check.

Notre Dame vs. Duke Opponent Stats

	Notre Dame	Duke Opponents
Scoring: Points/Game	39.6	8.8
First Downs: Total	114	77
First Downs: Rushing – Passing – By Penalty	52 – 59 – 3	39 – 35 – 3
Rushing: Yards / Attempt	5.58	3.8
Rushing: Attempts – Yards – TD	178 – 994 – 10	140 – 532 – 2
Passing: Rating	199.04	93.83
Passing: Yards	1392	573
Passing: Attempts – Completions – Interceptions – TD	132 – 93 – 0 – 16	129 – 71 – 4 – 3
Total Offense: Yards / Play	7.7	4.11
Total Offense: Plays – Yards	310 – 2386	269 – 1105
Punt Returns: Yards / Return	7.83	4.17
Punt Returns: Returns – Yards – TD	6 – 47 – 0	6 – 25 – 0
Kickoff Returns: Yards / Return	19	21
Kickoff Returns: Returns – Yards – TD	6 – 114 – 0	9 – 189 – 0
Punting: Yards / Punt	48.33	39.9
Punting: Punts – Yards	12 – 580	20 – 798
Interceptions: Returns – Yards – TD	5 – 33 – 1	0 – 0 – 0
Fumbles: Number – Lost	5 – 2	5 – 4
Penalties: Number – Yards	27 – 250	13 – 151
Time of Possession / Game	31:14.00	29:59.00
3rd Down Conversions: Conversion %	53.70%	43.10%
3rd Down Conversions: Attempts – Conversions	54 – 29	58 – 25
4th Down Conversions: Conversion %	60%	22.22%
4th Down Conversions: Attempts – Conversions	5 – 3	9 – 2
Red Zone: Success %	88.89%	50%
Red Zone: Attempts – Scores	18 – 16	10 – 5
Field Goals: Success %	42.90%	0%
Field Goals: Attempts – Made	7 – 3	3 – 0
PAT Kicking: Success %	100%	100%
PAT Kicking: Attempts – Made	27 – 27	5 – 5
2-Point Conversions: Success %	–	–
2-Point Conversions: Attempts – Made	0 – 0	0 – 0

A Running Variety

Any concern that shutting down Audric Estime would neutralize the Irish running game was effectively put to rest last Saturday night. Of the 176 yards gained against Ohio State, only 70 came from Estime, with 97 combined yards coming from Jeremiyah Love, Gi’Bran Payne and Jadarian Price. That complete total was roughly what Notre Dame gained against North Carolina State and should be a good benchmark to assess their effort this week. Clemson was able to gouge the Duke run defense for 213 yards earlier this month, so the opportunity exists to exploit that apparent flaw.

The Blue Devils’ top three rushers of Jordan Waters, Leonard and Jaquez Moore have averaged 6.6 yards every time they carry the ball. Some may believe that those numbers were padded on the basis of Duke’s past three opponents: Lafayette, Northwestern and Connecticut. However, this trio also combined to gain 199 yards against Clemson for an even better average of 7.3 yards-per-carry. Notre Dame’s run defense suffered only one major hiccup against Ohio State and otherwise kept a lid on their talented corps of runners, a task they’ll be asked to again perform again this week.

Efficient Passing Defenses

Facing an offense like Ohio State resulted in Notre Dame dropping to second among all FBS teams when it comes to pass efficiency. The team’s 91.37 rating is still outstanding and representative of the collective work that’s held opponents to an average of just under 11 points per game. Despite just seven sacks, the Irish have still made 19 stops behind the line for a total of 118 yards. A total of 25 quarterback hurries as well as 21 pass breakups for this unit have also played key roles in limiting opponent scoring. On the turnover front, there have been five interceptions and seven forced fumbles, though no fumble recoveries yet.

Breathing down the neck of the Irish in the pass efficiency department is Duke, which is ranked fourth with a rating of 93.82. They’ve allowed just under nine points per contest and only once given up more than seven in a contest. Blue Devil defenders have collected 25 tackles-for-loss for 109 yards and have eight sacks. The Irish have a decided edge in quarterback hurries, with Duke managing just 11 in that department while the 20 pass breakups fall in line with Notre Dame’s numbers. This contingent has four pickoffs on the year and has recovered four fumbles, forcing three.

Dealing in the Red Zone

Both teams rank among the top 10 in the nation when it comes to defending in the Red Zone. Duke is second overall, with Notre Dame not far behind in the 10th spot, with the difference coming in field goals allowed. Duke has yet to allow any three-pointers in this area while Notre Dame has allowed four, with both teams giving up five touchdowns. Last season, Duke wasn’t been quite as efficient, giving up scores on 36 of the 41 attempts made. The Irish offered similar numbers with 32 of 34 forays resulting in a score.