What happened to the Notre Dame defense on six Duke plays of 20-plus yards?

Over half of Duke’s total yards of offense vs. Notre Dame came on six plays. The Fighting Irish played well defensively in holding yet another ranked opponent below 20 points, but there were still some costly lapses from defensive coordinator Al Golden‘s unit.

Here is a breakdown of the six plays Duke had that gained 20 or more yards, three through the air and three on the ground.

First and 10 from the Duke 28: 27-yard pass

There is no better way for an offense to say, “Hey, Notre Dame, we’re coming for ya,” then to go right after cornerback Benjamin Morrison on the first snap from scrimmage. That’s exactly what Duke does here.

Notre Dame only has a single high safety, so it’s one-on-one coverage on the outside. Duke quarterback Riley Leonard throws the ball up in a spot that allows his receiver to make a play, and Blue Devils receiver Jordan Moore complies.

Morrison never looks completely comfortable on this play. He usually makes a better attempt at finding the football, but he’s all turned around here. Notre Dame defensive linemen Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills easily win their reps at the line of scrimmage, but Leonard back-foots his throw and still puts it in a perfect spot in the face of pressure. This is a tip your cap type of result.

Second and five from the Duke 16: 21-yard pass

The Blue Devils run an option route that basically doubles as a rub route because of how close two of their wide receivers are coming off the snap. That gets Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts lost in coverage, and it’s catch and run from Leonard to Jalon Calhoun.

Watts recovers and puts himself in position to make a play, but he misses a tackle and lets Calhoun free for an extra 10 yards. The route concept wins the rep here, but Watts needs to make an open-field tackle to limit the damage.

First and 10 from the Notre Dame 43: 21-yard run

The Notre Dame defense is in man coverage with a single-high safety again. The Irish rush five plays at the line, and Leonard steps right up through all of them with plenty of green grass ahead. He waits just long enough for receivers to take their defenders downfield then sprints forward on a quarterback draw.

This is the price Notre Dame pays for sending middle linebacker JD Bertrand into the trenches. He gets too far upfield, and Leonard sprints right by him.

Second and 10 from the Duke 37: 34-yard run

Duke uses misdirection to the left and runs a counter to the right. The right tackle mans up Notre Dame defensive end Jordan Botelho, and the right guard seals off Mills and the rest of the Irish players at the LOS. The hole Jaquez Moore is ginormous.

Bertrand crashes the line and fellow linebacker Marist Liufau is standing in no man’s land. Notre Dame is bit on the behind by running a nickel look that disallows the linebackers to get involved on a simple counter. Liufau needs to diagnose it better, though, because he is of no use in the middle of the field on this play.

Third and 5 from the Duke 25: 26-yard pass

Notre Dame blitzes both linebackers but drops both defensive ends into coverage in a zone look. Duke runs crossing routes to free up Jordan Moore over the middle. Notre Dame defensive end Junior Tuihalamaka is sitting there after he drops to take away the middle, and he nearly gets his hand on Leonard’s pass, but it gets through and gives Moore room to run.

Duke’s running back picks up Bertrand’s blitz, which allows Leonard time to make an unaffected throw. The camera angle behind Leonard shows Tuihalamaka’s hand was within a foot of deflecting the pass. Instead the play goes 26 yards the other way. That’s football.

First and 10 from the 50: 33-yard run

Misdirection gets the Notre Dame defense going one way and Leonard goes the other on a keeper. There isn’t a single body on the Irish side who doesn’t get fooled by the motion. Morrison takes a poor angle and Leonard goes by him easily. Morrison could tackle Leonard short of the line to gain but instead Leonard goes for 20-plus more yards down the sideline. If not for Watts coming across the field to push him out, Leonard might score on the play. Defensive ends Botelho and Javontae Jean-Baptiste are not catching him.

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