Scouting the opponent: Notre Dame football also seeks spark after 1-2 start

<p>Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer has been one of the team’s bright spots, racking up 13 total touchdowns through three games.</p>

Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer has been one of the team’s bright spots, racking up 13 total touchdowns through three games.

For the second straight week, the Blue Devils will travel to take on a team that, like Duke, is heading in the wrong direction early in the season.

After entering the season with College Football Playoff aspirations and a top-10 ranking, Notre Dame is now out of the top 25 and is trying to find its footing following early-season losses to Texas and Michigan State.

“Obviously, a bad start to our season, poor start, whatever way you want to characterize it,” Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly said at his weekly press conference Monday. “Three games into the season, nobody wants to be where we are, but we are 1-2. I’m a 1-2 coach.”

The road to recovery for one of the most storied programs in college football will begin Saturday when the Fighting Irish host Duke Saturday afternoon in South Bend. The matchup with the Blue Devils will begin a string of three consecutive games for Notre Dame against ACC opponents, with games against Syracuse and N.C. State to follow.

But first, the Fighting Irish will have to put a disappointing 36-28 home loss to then-No. 12 Michigan State behind them, in which the team unraveled at the seams, allowing 36 straight points to the Spartans after building an early seven-point lead.

Although Notre Dame rallied with three consecutive touchdowns of its own, the Fighting Irish could not complete the comeback, likely ending the team’s playoff hopes.

“We obviously compete unevenly, if you will, in a manner that would probably characterize as we lack a sense of urgency in the way we play,” Kelly said. “We play in spurts. We play really well for a period of time, and then we kind of don’t play at the highest level necessary against really good competition.”

Unlike the Blue Devils, Notre Dame has struggled more with defense in its losses to Michigan State and Texas. Kelly’s team allowed 50 points Week 1 against the Longhorns in a double-overtime loss. After losing their three top tacklers to graduation and having senior safety Max Redfield dismissed following his arrest, the Fighting Irish have been forced to rely on first-year starters across the board.

The struggles have shown in a big way—Notre Dame has allowed more than 500 yards of total offense in both of its losses. Although the Fighting Irish have their share of playmakers, the team has only forced three turnovers so far this season.

“I don’t know how much you can keep pushing that envelope in terms of how many first-year players do you put out on that field against outstanding competition,” Kelly said.

For a Blue Devil team that has struggled in its own right on the ground, Saturday’s contest against the Fighting Irish may be the opportunity head coach David Cutciffe is looking for to jumpstart running backs Jela Duncan and Shaun Wilson.

Duke will also have a chance to turn around its struggle on special teams against Notre Dame, which made a few massive blunders of its own in the loss to the Spartans. The Fighting Irish had a kickoff return touchdown called back due to a penalty and also botched a punt in the second quarter that turned the game around.

“I like the energy in the group. I like their investment in it in terms of—I don’t have to beg anybody to be on these teams,” Kelly said. “A few years ago, it was like we had to pay them to be on special teams. So I like where they’re going. We’ve got to clean up some of those unfortunate mistakes.”

But the area where Notre Dame will have a decided advantage against the Blue Devils will be on offense. Although Duke’s defense has held strong without much help from its offense through the first three weeks, the Blue Devils will go up against an explosive Fighting Irish attack spearheaded by junior quarterback DeShone Kizer—who has nine passing touchdowns and four rushing touchdowns this season.

Kizer’s strength running the ball—something Duke struggled to defend against Wake Forest’s Kendall Hinton earlier this season—makes him especially lethal. Combining the quarterback with the talented duo of Josh Adams and Tarean Folston in the backfield gives Notre Dame a number of options to attack the Blue Devil defense.

With the Fighting Irish having the superior talent on the field, Duke will need to find a way to force turnovers. To do that, the Blue Devils will need another strong performance from their secondary, particularly cornerback Breon Borders, the active leader among all FBS players with 12 interceptions. Kelly said Borders caught his eye on tape, but Duke will have its hands full with a trio of wideouts averaging more than 50 receiving yards per game. 

“They’ve played a very difficult schedule. They’re extremely talented in all phases,” Duke head coach David Cutcliffe said Tuesday. “Offensively, their front is just outstanding. Their quarterback has got incredible skills. They have the players in place, so it’s a huge challenge to go on the road and play them, but it’s a huge opportunity for our team.”

With both teams in danger of falling 1-3, Saturday’s contest could be the difference between a second-half recovery or a season to forget for both programs. 

Ben Feder contributed reporting. 

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