NO DEFENDING THIS ‘ L’
Irish rush to 14- 0 lead but can’t hold on as ‘ D’ disappoints again
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — AJ Reed kicked a 19- yard field goal with 1: 27 left as Duke rallied from an early two- touchdown deficit to beat Notre Dame 38- 35 on Saturday.
Reed had missed all three of his field- goal attempts this season before kicking the game- winner. Duke coach David Cutcliffe, who opted to go for it on fourth- and- one from the 19- yard line early in the fourth quarter and failed, said he didn’t hesitate to let Reed attempt the field goal, saying the team had confidence in him.
“That unit there, they believe in him, and he’s got a lot of talent,” he said. “I know when it came down there at the end — the field goal — there was no doubt in my mind he was going to make it.”
Reed said he knew his teammates were behind him.
“They were all telling me that they had my back and that they knew I was going to get it done for them,” he said.
It was the second consecutive home loss for Notre Dame, which started the season ranked No. 10 and hoped to vie for a playoff spot. Coach Brian Kelly said afterward that nearly every position will be up for grabs and said he might consider playing quarterback Brandon Wimbush, whom he had hoped to redshirt.
“I told our guys, essentially, that we’re going in the wrong direction,’’ Kelly said. “We’re not going to continue to go in this direction. We’ll have to re- evaluate what we’re doing, who we’re doing it with and how we’re doing it.’’
The Duke defense set up the final touchdown when it sacked quarterback DeShone Kizer for a seven- yard loss at the 5- yard line and Deondre Singleton intercepted a pass at the Notre Dame 45.
The Irish defense continued to struggle, giving up 30 or more points against Power Five teams for the seventh time in the last nine games. The student section chanted “Fire VanGorder,” referring to defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder.
Kelly, who talked about his frus-- tration with the play of the defense a week earlier, said the coaching of the defense is one of the few areas he wasn’t disappointed in, adding he didn’t think it was a factor in the outcome. He said Duke was grittier and more determined.
Kizer ran for a touchdown and threw for another in the game’s first six minutes to give the Irish a 14- 0 lead.
But Duke’s Shaun Wilson returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for a score to spark the Blue Devils ( 2- 2), who lost at Northwestern last Saturday.
Kizer was 22- for- 37 for 381 yards with two touchdowns, an interception and a fumble for the Irish ( 1- 3). Kizer threw a 12- yard touchdown pass midway through the fourth quarter that put Notre Dame ahead for the first time since squandering the 14- 0 lead, but the Irish couldn’t hang on.
The Blue Devils, who managed a total of 27 points in losses to Wake Forest and Duke, scored 28 in the first half against the Irish.
Duke quarterback Daniel Jones threw for three touchdowns, including a 64- yard scoring pass to Anthony Nash midway through the fourth quarter to tie the score as Duke beat the Irish for just the second time. The first win was in their first meeting, a 9- 7 victory in Durham, North Carolina, in 1958. Jones was 24- for- 32 for 290 yards.