Week 12: Duke at Notre Dame

If ever there is a must-win game for a team that’s 1-9, this is it. Notre Dame is enduring the worst season in the history of its program, but a loss to Duke likely would be the lowest point in a season full of them.

The Blue Devils have won just one of their last 29 games, and they have lost 24 consecutive games in ACC play. It’s not exactly the profile of a team that’s supposed to go into South Bend and come out with a victory.

But this isn’t a typical year for the Fighting Irish. In the last two weeks alone, they lost to Navy for the first time in 44 years and suffered their school-record ninth loss of the season.

Opportunity — in the form of a winnable game in a tradition-rich environment — rarely has knocked louder for the Blue Devils.

“I go into every game — and I think our players do, too — believing that we’re going to win,” Duke coach Ted Roof said. “Sometimes that happens, and sometimes it doesn’t. It’s the next team, and it’s an opportunity for us to play on national television and to showcase Duke football. It’s great exposure for our program. It’s a game that if we were to play well and win, it could do a lot of good things and really help us.”

The fact that the Blue Devils can talk about winning this game and be taken seriously is amazing. But the numbers actually support Roof’s belief that his team can be competitive this week.

Duke is last in the nation out of 119 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in rushing (52.9 yards per game), but Notre Dame is only one spot better (56.6 ypg). And while Duke is No. 108 in scoring (19.4 points per game), No. 116 in total offense (266.1 ypg) and No. 116 in sacks allowed (4.0 per game), Notre Dame is No. 118 (14.8 ppg), last (218.0 ypg) and last (4.9 per game) in those respective categories.

Even the team’s victories were similar. Duke defeated Northwestern 20-14 despite being outgained 509-306, and Notre Dame defeated UCLA 20-6 despite being outgained 282-140.

The Fighting Irish have been outgained by at least 140 yards in seven of 10 games this season, and there’s nothing Touchdown Jesus can do to help a team overcome that kind of discrepancy.

“We’re playing at a program with a rich tradition, and I want our guys to get excited about that and the opportunity to play on national television,” Roof said. “At the same time, I want them to focus on playing with great effort, doing their assignments and getting after it after they’re lined up, not on what’s happened at Notre Dame in the past.

“We certainly have a lot of respect for their program, but I don’t want their past history and tradition to make any tackles or score any touchdowns. I want us to stay in the now and stay in the moment.”

The Blue Devils will get some help doing that from someone who has been in Notre Dame Stadium plenty of times. Duke offensive coordinator Peter Vaas was Notre Dame’s quarterbacks coach for the past two years, so he can give the Blue Devils extra help in preparing for the game.

“I think that he can help us with some insight on personnel,” Roof said. “Anytime you’ve been on a staff, you know your team’s personnel. I’m hoping that gives us some insight.”

One player Vaas doesn’t have much inside information on is true freshman quarterback Jimmy Clausen. Clausen enrolled at Notre Dame in January, but Vaas left Notre Dame for Duke just one month later.

Clausen has struggled this season — gaining the starting job, losing it and then regaining it — but he had a breakout performance in last week’s 41-24 loss to Air Force. Clausen completed 22 of 40 throws for 246 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, providing hope that the Fighting Irish might be able to exploit a Duke defense that ranks No. 113 nationally in opponents’ pass efficiency (148.9).

If Clausen can build on that performance this week, he might be able to help Notre Dame avoid one of the most embarrassing losses in the history of its program.

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