San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Independent no more: Irish make historic ACC debut, beating Duke
After nearly 133 years of football history, Notre Dame’s 2713 victory over Duke moved its alltime conference record to 10.
Kyren Williams ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns in his first start, quarterback Ian Book threw for 263 yards and the No. 10 Irish prevailed Saturday at rainy Notre Dame Stadium before a socially distanced crowd of 10,097.
The victory was Notre Dame’s 19th straight at home and the first for the Fighting Irish in a conference after playing as an independent since 1887. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Irish are playing this season as a member of the ACC.
Williams, who saw limited action last season as a freshman, had 19 carries and also was Notre Dame’s leading receiver with two receptions for 93 yards, one a 75yarder in the first half.
“That was a pretty good opener for him; there’s a lot he can build off of this,” Irish coach Brian Kelly said about Williams.
“We knew it was going to be a grind, but they hung in there,” added Kelly on a day when the school announced a fouryear contract extension with him through 2024 and he improved to 92 in openers. “We played much better football in the second half.” Book outdueled Duke grad quarterback Chase Brice, who threw for 259 yards on 20of37 passing and rushed for a touchdown in his debut for coach David Cutcliffe after transferring in from Clemson. #1 Clemson 37, Wake Forest 13: Trevor Lawrence threw for 351 yards and combined for three touchdowns, Trevor Etienne ran for 102 yards and a touchdown and the visiting Tigers improved to 70-5 since the start of the 2015 season under coach Dabo Swinney. Clemson has outscored Wake Forest 152-19 over the last three seasons, holding the Demon Deacons to just one touchdown. #5 Oklahoma 48, Missouri St. 0: Spencer Rattler threw for 290 yards and four touchdowns in his first start for the host Sooners. Rattler, the highly touted redshirt freshman from Phoenix, played only the first two quarters and helped the Sooners take a 41-0 lead.
#18 N. Carolina 31, Syracuse 6: Javonte Williams ran for three fourthquarter touchdowns and the host Tar Heels overcame a mistake-filled performance. Michael Carter added 138 yards of total offense for the Tar Heels in an empty home stadium after the school opted to open with no fans in attendance. La.-Lafayette 31, #23 Iowa St. 14: Louisiana-Lafayette got kick and punt returns for touchdowns to help secure one of its biggest wins in program history. The Ragin’ Cajuns were ignited by Chris Smith’s 95-yard kickoff return in the second quarter and Eric Garror’s 83-yard punt return in the third as they beat a Top 25 opponent on the road for the first time (1-26).