Duke kicks Notre Dame to a 1-3 start

Reed’s field goal with 1:24 left gives the Blue Devils their second win over the Irish.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — AJ Reed kicked a 19-yard field goal with 84 seconds left as Duke rallied back from an early two-touchdown deficit to beat Notre Dame, 38-35, on Saturday.

The loss leaves the Irish with a 1-3 record, which matches the worst start in Brian Kelly’s seven seasons as Notre Dame’s coach. The Irish lost three of their first four games in Kelly’s first season at the helm in 2010.

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 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. 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,” he said.

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.

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, N.C., in 1958.

Jones completed 24 of 32 passes for 290 yards and Duke rushed for 208 yards.

With DeVon Edwards out with what likely is a seasonending knee injury sustained on Notre Dame’s first kickoff, Shaun Wilson returned a kickoff 96 yards for a score to spark the Blue Devils (2-2) after they fell behind 14-0. The Duke defense set up the final touchdown when it sacked DeShone Kizer for a seven-yard loss at the five-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.