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Blue Devil Rewind: Big Plays In South Bend
5/19/2020 5:00:00 PM | Football
This series will take an inside look at top moments in Duke football history and are not meant to be a complete listing of all memorable accomplishments, but a sampling of great moments as determined by the GoDuke.com staff.
When Duke traveled to Notre Dame Stadium on Sept. 24, 2016, the Blue Devils were coming off back-to-back losses to Wake Forest and Northwestern. The last thing it needed was a third defeat in as many outings so early in the season. As the game in front of 80,000 fans quickly progressed, Duke's hopes of pulling off the upset looked as though it would come down to a defensive stop or a field goal. Well, it turned out the Blue Devils would receive both in the 38-35 win.
In the opening six minutes, Notre Dame took an early 14-0 lead with two quick scores. The Blue Devils needed to reset; insert Shaun Wilson. After Notre Dame's second touchdown, the junior returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown to jumpstart a 21-0 rally that saw the Blue Devils pull in front, 21-14. The two teams then exchanged touchdowns in the final minutes of the half and Duke took a seven-point edge into the break.
The Fighting Irish would respond after halftime, however, with another 14-0 run to jump back on top at 35-28 with 7:46 left to play. Again, Duke needed a big play. After a touchback on the kickoff, the Blue Devils began their next drive on their own 25-yard line and, three plays later, were in the end zone. Redshirt freshman Daniel Jones quickly connected with sophomore T.J. Rahming for a seven-yard gain before Wilson picked up another four yards for a Blue Devil first down. Then came the big play – Jones found redshirt senior Anthony Nash for a 64-yard touchdown to knot the score at 35-35.
Those big plays continued. On Notre Dame's next drive, it rushed for a loss of three yards, was sacked for a loss of seven, and was then intercepted by senior Deondre Singleton to give Duke great field position with a little over five minutes to play.
The Blue Devils then strung together a 10-play, 44-yard drive that ate up nearly four minutes off the clock and set up what would be the game-winning field goal. Prior to that contest, freshman kicker AJ Reed had missed all three of his field goal attempts in Duke's opening three games. But this time was different, and the rookie calmly stepped up and booted the ball through the uprights from 19 yards out.
Notre Dame still had time to mount a comeback with 1:27 remaining but the Duke defense forced three incomplete passes on the Fighting Irish's final four plays to secure the win.
Jones went 24-of-32 for 290 yards and three touchdowns during the game, while both Jela Duncan and Nash accumulatÂed over 100 yards rushing and receiving, respectively.Â
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FROM THEIR POINT OF VIEW
Anthony Nash (Duke Wide Receiver, 2013-16) – "Leading up to the Notre Dame game, I believe we were 1-2, suffering disappointing losses to Northwestern and Wake Forest. That week of practice was different. There was a different energy for that game. I think as a team, we had enough of the embarrassment from losing those two games and the doubt from everybody.
"That week was huge for me. My birthday is the 20th of September and that Friday I got my acceptance letter from Duke Doctor of Physical Therapy school. I should have known then that we had all of the luck in our favor. It was only right; the game happened the way it did.
"The morning of the game was like any other game day morning. It was a "hype" game for the program (3:30 kick on NBC), but it felt like any other game to me. As I reflect on this game now, I am surprised that I wasn't more amped up for it. Where I am from, you either like Notre Dame or Penn State. My high school colors are gold and navy to represent the Fighting Irish. I actually despised Notre Dame. My only reason was that everybody liked them. Even one of my best friends is a huge Notre Dame fan. I'm pretty sure I refused to talk to him that week though.
"The place was sold out, over 80k fans but having played in places like Virginia Tech and Louisville we were ready for that expereince. South Bend was not as rowdy as I would have expected it to be. This helped settle my nerves, if I had any. But I do remember having a weird feeling when I ran out on the field. I can't really explain it but when I closed my eyes to do my little pre-game "get my mind right", everything went silent. One of the strangest feelings I ever experienced.
"The game did not start how we wanted it to. Notre Dame took it down the field on their first possession and scored with ease. They then kick off to us and DeVon (Edwards) gets hurt on a non-contact fall on the kick return. At this point, the soul is already gone from the team before the offense even took the field for the first time. DeVon, a senior captain was such an important piece for our team. He was a leader and a playmaker for our defense.
"Our offense took the field and we went three-and-out. You could tell everybody was still stunned from DeVon's injury. Notre Dame again marched down the field and scored. It was 14-0 with 8:57 left in the first quarter. Only thing that went through my head was "here we go again". And then BOOM! Just like he was shot out of a cannon, Shaun Wilson saves the morale of the team. Scoring an electrifying 96-yard kickoff return. That was it. That woke us up!
"The defense then gets a stop and the sideline is amped. DJ (Daniel Jones) puts a great drive together featuring catches by T.J. Rahming before Jela Duncan punches it in for us. And just like that, we were tied at 14-14. The first quarter comes to an end and we have all of the momentum. We broke the tie midway through the second quarter when DJ threw a beautiful seam pass to Quay Chambers. That was a beautiful moment because that was Quay's first touchdown and knowing Quay, you had to be ecstatic for the guy.
"Leading up to the end of the second quarter, the game was tied 21-21 but we had one final chance to put a good drive together and get some points before the break. DJ snapped the ball and I found myself one-vs-one with free range to the middle of the field. DJ threw a beauty and that was the half. We headed into the locker room up 28-21 to Notre Dame at their place. At that moment, we knew we were going to win.
"At the start of the fourth quarter, the score 28-28. We had a good drive going, but Notre Dame ended up stopping us on 4th-and-1. During their next drive they scored to break the deadlock and go in front 35-28. We got the ball back with around eight minutes left. During practice, we put in a play specifically for the type of defense they ran. So, we put in a trick play, where DJ would act like he is a running an option play and whenever the corner would bite, he would flip it over. But of course, things don't go how you plan them to. They actually ran a corner blitz and I was kind of confused on what to do. I hesitated if you watch the video because I was like this is "too good to be true. You did all the work for me!" So, I just streaked up the field and the safety took a terrible angle and I was gone. All you could hear were the Duke fans screaming.
"But that only tied the game. By this time, I think there was about seven minutes left to play. Fortunately, our defense went insane on the next drive. I'm pretty sure we had a big tackle for loss and a sack. Deondre Singleton halted their drive with a crucial interception.
"We knew as an offense it was up to us to finish the game. We ran the time down to 1:27, with a chance for AJ Reed to basically win it for us. I don't remember much before the kick. I know he had his difficulties as a freshman with kicking, but you could tell it was 100 percent mental. He was thinking too much. It didn't seem like he was thinking at all when he won us that game though. The defense then sealed the deal with a four-and-out and we came out victorious."
"Again, personally it was like a story book ending. It's hard to take any credit for that win, when so much happened with multiple people making big plays. I am grateful that I could be a part of a historic victory for the program. It didn't hit me until 2019, when Duke hosted Notre Dame and I see countless videos and photos of the touchdowns, celebrations, and smiles we all had. It was a great experience."
AJ Reed (Duke Kicker, 2016, 18-19)* – "They were all telling me that they had my back and that they knew I was going to get it done for them."
David Cutcliffe (Duke Head Football Coach, 2012-pres.)* – "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."
On his overall thoughts:Â "To start with, I'm extremely proud of the effort, just the effort, not the victory first, but the effort our team displayed on the field, the effort our coaches displayed in coaching our team. I think some of the biggest aspects of it, for us, are being down 14-0 on the road and coming back. Down in the fourth quarter and finding a way to come back. It was just a fiercely competitive game. We found a little bit more out about ourselves today and what our personality has to be to win. So not all that complicated, we did the things that we had to do to give ourselves a chance to win on the road, and then found a way to win it in the fourth quarter. As I said, extremely proud of all of our people and the job that they have continued to do."
On sending out Reed, despite him struggling early in the season: "I thought we would make the first down and you don't ever do that unless you think you're going to make the first down. I felt like it might take a touchdown to win. I didn't think a field goal would win the game. And I love to go for it on fourth down. I didn't do a very good job of having us ready on that play. You don't get do overs in our business. I wouldn't have kicked the field goal. I would have done a different thing offensively, which that all falls on me in that circumstance. But I have confidence, AJ had a great week. We did make a change in our holder and Danny Stirt who is a non-scholarship player, who is as a place kicker and a punter for us, just had a great week. It built confidence in AJ and our guys believed, that unit there, they believe in him and he's got a lot of talent. So, I knew when it came down there at the end, the field goal, there was no doubt in my mind he was going to make it. But I just felt like we needed a touchdown to win and I think we would have."
On going down early and then using Wilson's return to spark things: "Well we felt like we have been on the verge, you know we're a really, really good kickoff return team. They looked like the best kickoff return team for a while today. But we know we're really good. And we told our team all week long, we're on the verge of this. And, of course, we thought it would be DeVon (Edwards). But Shaun's a great athlete, great vision and great quickness. So it did energize us, but I reminded all of them, that's not what we came up here to do, to have to look for something good to happen to play well. That's not what you don't on the road. That may sound crazy, and they were excited, but I said, you know, now let's get back to being focused on what we intended to do from the beginning. And that's to compete every play. I thought our team did a great job of doing that through 60 minutes of this game. I didn't want it to ebb and tied with emotion. That's not what you do when you go on the road, because who is the emotion in favor of? It's in favor of them, almost every single time. So, I thought our team fought through that. But a little help to have a nice kickoff return for a touchdown. That doesn't hurt."
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*Excerpt taken from postgame quote sheet
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#GoDuke
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When Duke traveled to Notre Dame Stadium on Sept. 24, 2016, the Blue Devils were coming off back-to-back losses to Wake Forest and Northwestern. The last thing it needed was a third defeat in as many outings so early in the season. As the game in front of 80,000 fans quickly progressed, Duke's hopes of pulling off the upset looked as though it would come down to a defensive stop or a field goal. Well, it turned out the Blue Devils would receive both in the 38-35 win.
In the opening six minutes, Notre Dame took an early 14-0 lead with two quick scores. The Blue Devils needed to reset; insert Shaun Wilson. After Notre Dame's second touchdown, the junior returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown to jumpstart a 21-0 rally that saw the Blue Devils pull in front, 21-14. The two teams then exchanged touchdowns in the final minutes of the half and Duke took a seven-point edge into the break.
The Fighting Irish would respond after halftime, however, with another 14-0 run to jump back on top at 35-28 with 7:46 left to play. Again, Duke needed a big play. After a touchback on the kickoff, the Blue Devils began their next drive on their own 25-yard line and, three plays later, were in the end zone. Redshirt freshman Daniel Jones quickly connected with sophomore T.J. Rahming for a seven-yard gain before Wilson picked up another four yards for a Blue Devil first down. Then came the big play – Jones found redshirt senior Anthony Nash for a 64-yard touchdown to knot the score at 35-35.
Those big plays continued. On Notre Dame's next drive, it rushed for a loss of three yards, was sacked for a loss of seven, and was then intercepted by senior Deondre Singleton to give Duke great field position with a little over five minutes to play.
The Blue Devils then strung together a 10-play, 44-yard drive that ate up nearly four minutes off the clock and set up what would be the game-winning field goal. Prior to that contest, freshman kicker AJ Reed had missed all three of his field goal attempts in Duke's opening three games. But this time was different, and the rookie calmly stepped up and booted the ball through the uprights from 19 yards out.
Notre Dame still had time to mount a comeback with 1:27 remaining but the Duke defense forced three incomplete passes on the Fighting Irish's final four plays to secure the win.
Jones went 24-of-32 for 290 yards and three touchdowns during the game, while both Jela Duncan and Nash accumulatÂed over 100 yards rushing and receiving, respectively.Â
Â
---
Â
FROM THEIR POINT OF VIEW
Anthony Nash (Duke Wide Receiver, 2013-16) – "Leading up to the Notre Dame game, I believe we were 1-2, suffering disappointing losses to Northwestern and Wake Forest. That week of practice was different. There was a different energy for that game. I think as a team, we had enough of the embarrassment from losing those two games and the doubt from everybody.
"That week was huge for me. My birthday is the 20th of September and that Friday I got my acceptance letter from Duke Doctor of Physical Therapy school. I should have known then that we had all of the luck in our favor. It was only right; the game happened the way it did.
"The morning of the game was like any other game day morning. It was a "hype" game for the program (3:30 kick on NBC), but it felt like any other game to me. As I reflect on this game now, I am surprised that I wasn't more amped up for it. Where I am from, you either like Notre Dame or Penn State. My high school colors are gold and navy to represent the Fighting Irish. I actually despised Notre Dame. My only reason was that everybody liked them. Even one of my best friends is a huge Notre Dame fan. I'm pretty sure I refused to talk to him that week though.
"The place was sold out, over 80k fans but having played in places like Virginia Tech and Louisville we were ready for that expereince. South Bend was not as rowdy as I would have expected it to be. This helped settle my nerves, if I had any. But I do remember having a weird feeling when I ran out on the field. I can't really explain it but when I closed my eyes to do my little pre-game "get my mind right", everything went silent. One of the strangest feelings I ever experienced.
"The game did not start how we wanted it to. Notre Dame took it down the field on their first possession and scored with ease. They then kick off to us and DeVon (Edwards) gets hurt on a non-contact fall on the kick return. At this point, the soul is already gone from the team before the offense even took the field for the first time. DeVon, a senior captain was such an important piece for our team. He was a leader and a playmaker for our defense.
"Our offense took the field and we went three-and-out. You could tell everybody was still stunned from DeVon's injury. Notre Dame again marched down the field and scored. It was 14-0 with 8:57 left in the first quarter. Only thing that went through my head was "here we go again". And then BOOM! Just like he was shot out of a cannon, Shaun Wilson saves the morale of the team. Scoring an electrifying 96-yard kickoff return. That was it. That woke us up!
"The defense then gets a stop and the sideline is amped. DJ (Daniel Jones) puts a great drive together featuring catches by T.J. Rahming before Jela Duncan punches it in for us. And just like that, we were tied at 14-14. The first quarter comes to an end and we have all of the momentum. We broke the tie midway through the second quarter when DJ threw a beautiful seam pass to Quay Chambers. That was a beautiful moment because that was Quay's first touchdown and knowing Quay, you had to be ecstatic for the guy.
"Leading up to the end of the second quarter, the game was tied 21-21 but we had one final chance to put a good drive together and get some points before the break. DJ snapped the ball and I found myself one-vs-one with free range to the middle of the field. DJ threw a beauty and that was the half. We headed into the locker room up 28-21 to Notre Dame at their place. At that moment, we knew we were going to win.
"At the start of the fourth quarter, the score 28-28. We had a good drive going, but Notre Dame ended up stopping us on 4th-and-1. During their next drive they scored to break the deadlock and go in front 35-28. We got the ball back with around eight minutes left. During practice, we put in a play specifically for the type of defense they ran. So, we put in a trick play, where DJ would act like he is a running an option play and whenever the corner would bite, he would flip it over. But of course, things don't go how you plan them to. They actually ran a corner blitz and I was kind of confused on what to do. I hesitated if you watch the video because I was like this is "too good to be true. You did all the work for me!" So, I just streaked up the field and the safety took a terrible angle and I was gone. All you could hear were the Duke fans screaming.
"But that only tied the game. By this time, I think there was about seven minutes left to play. Fortunately, our defense went insane on the next drive. I'm pretty sure we had a big tackle for loss and a sack. Deondre Singleton halted their drive with a crucial interception.
"We knew as an offense it was up to us to finish the game. We ran the time down to 1:27, with a chance for AJ Reed to basically win it for us. I don't remember much before the kick. I know he had his difficulties as a freshman with kicking, but you could tell it was 100 percent mental. He was thinking too much. It didn't seem like he was thinking at all when he won us that game though. The defense then sealed the deal with a four-and-out and we came out victorious."
"Again, personally it was like a story book ending. It's hard to take any credit for that win, when so much happened with multiple people making big plays. I am grateful that I could be a part of a historic victory for the program. It didn't hit me until 2019, when Duke hosted Notre Dame and I see countless videos and photos of the touchdowns, celebrations, and smiles we all had. It was a great experience."
AJ Reed (Duke Kicker, 2016, 18-19)* – "They were all telling me that they had my back and that they knew I was going to get it done for them."
David Cutcliffe (Duke Head Football Coach, 2012-pres.)* – "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."
On his overall thoughts:Â "To start with, I'm extremely proud of the effort, just the effort, not the victory first, but the effort our team displayed on the field, the effort our coaches displayed in coaching our team. I think some of the biggest aspects of it, for us, are being down 14-0 on the road and coming back. Down in the fourth quarter and finding a way to come back. It was just a fiercely competitive game. We found a little bit more out about ourselves today and what our personality has to be to win. So not all that complicated, we did the things that we had to do to give ourselves a chance to win on the road, and then found a way to win it in the fourth quarter. As I said, extremely proud of all of our people and the job that they have continued to do."
On sending out Reed, despite him struggling early in the season: "I thought we would make the first down and you don't ever do that unless you think you're going to make the first down. I felt like it might take a touchdown to win. I didn't think a field goal would win the game. And I love to go for it on fourth down. I didn't do a very good job of having us ready on that play. You don't get do overs in our business. I wouldn't have kicked the field goal. I would have done a different thing offensively, which that all falls on me in that circumstance. But I have confidence, AJ had a great week. We did make a change in our holder and Danny Stirt who is a non-scholarship player, who is as a place kicker and a punter for us, just had a great week. It built confidence in AJ and our guys believed, that unit there, they believe in him and he's got a lot of talent. So, I knew when it came down there at the end, the field goal, there was no doubt in my mind he was going to make it. But I just felt like we needed a touchdown to win and I think we would have."
On going down early and then using Wilson's return to spark things: "Well we felt like we have been on the verge, you know we're a really, really good kickoff return team. They looked like the best kickoff return team for a while today. But we know we're really good. And we told our team all week long, we're on the verge of this. And, of course, we thought it would be DeVon (Edwards). But Shaun's a great athlete, great vision and great quickness. So it did energize us, but I reminded all of them, that's not what we came up here to do, to have to look for something good to happen to play well. That's not what you don't on the road. That may sound crazy, and they were excited, but I said, you know, now let's get back to being focused on what we intended to do from the beginning. And that's to compete every play. I thought our team did a great job of doing that through 60 minutes of this game. I didn't want it to ebb and tied with emotion. That's not what you do when you go on the road, because who is the emotion in favor of? It's in favor of them, almost every single time. So, I thought our team fought through that. But a little help to have a nice kickoff return for a touchdown. That doesn't hurt."
Â
*Excerpt taken from postgame quote sheet
Â
#GoDuke
Â
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