SOUTH BEND, Ind. — This one wasn’t all on the much-maligned Irish defense. It took a total team effort for Notre Dame to fall to 1-3 with an embarrassing loss at Notre Dame Stadium to Duke.
Three offensive turnovers, a special teams touchdown and more shaky defense sunk Notre Dame in a 38-35 loss to the Blue Devils, which entered Saturday 1-2 with that only win coming over an FCS opponent.
Duke came to South Bend having scored a combined 27 points against its two FBS opponents this year — Wake Forest and Northwestern, both losses — but eclipsed that mark in the first half.
After Notre Dame jumped out to a 14-0 lead — seemingly taking to heart coach Brian Kelly’s push to take a better sense of urgency into gameday — Duke’s Shaun Wilson returned a kick 96 yards for a touchdown. On the Blue Devils’ next possession, Cole Luke missed a tackle, Nick Coleman blew a coverage and running back Jela Duncan dashed 18 yards for a game-tying score.
Things got sloppy after Duke tied it, with Justin Yoon missing a 42-yard field goal and the Blue Devils getting stuffed on a fourth-and-one at the Irish 25. But later in the second quarter, Kizer strangely fumbled while turning around after receiving the snap, giving Duke the ball on the Irish 25.
Notre Dame’s sudden-change defense, as it did after a turnover against Michigan State, quickly allowed a score when Jones found Quay Chambers for an easy 25-yard touchdown after Chambers beat Drue Tranquill in coverage.
Dexter Williams tied things up later in the second quarter with an impressive 13-yard touchdown run, but Jones led another stress-free scoring drive near the end of the half. That one ended when Jones hit receiver Anthony Nash for a wide open 32-yard touchdown as Notre Dame’s secondary blew the coverage.
After Nyles Morgan notched Notre Dame’s first sack of the season — the Irish were the last team at the FBS level to record a sack — Notre Dame drove 83 yards on six plays, with Josh Adams polishing that drive off with a nine-yard score to tie things at 28.
Freshman cornerback Donte Vaughn came up with a huge play on Duke’s ensuring drive, picking off a pass in single coverage in the end zone to give the ball back to the Irish.
Notre Dame got another fourth-and-one stop at its own 19-yard line early in the fourth quarter and turned that into a go-ahead touchdown when Kizer found Equanimeous St. Brown for a 12-yard score.
But Notre Dame’s defense — which hadn’t allowed a point in the second half — quickly gave up the advantage. Jones found Nash down the sideline, and freshman Devin Studstill whiffed on a tackle to allow Nash to waltz in for a 64-yard game-tying score. That play erased whatever defensive goodwill Brian VanGorder’s group had built up in the second half.
The Irish offense, though, failed to come through. Williams was stuffed for a minus-three yard run and Kizer lost seven yards on a sack before throwing an arm-punt picked off at the Irish 45-yard line.
Duke quickly drove to the Irish six-yard line, though Jones was stopped just shy of the goal line on third down. AJ Reed hit his first field goal of the season, a 19-yarder, that wound up being the game-winner.
Kizer and Notre Dame had one last shot to tie it up or take the lead, but Kizer’s fourth-and-three pass near midfield fell incomplete.