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Football
vs Blue & White Game
A Memorable Trip to Notre Dame
9/10/2020 7:25:00 PM | Football
This story originally ran in the Football Issue of GoDuke, the Magazine -- Aug. 2020
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The last time Duke visited South Bend, coach David Cutcliffe's squad pulled off a dramatic and significant 38-35 road win. Redshirt freshman quarterback Daniel Jones, in just his fourth college game, threw for 290 yards and three touchdowns. Two of those were caught by redshirt senior Anthony Nash, including a 64-yarder in the fourth quarter that tied the score at 35. Nash provides this inside look at the 2016 Duke-Notre Dame contest.
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Leading up to the Notre Dame game, we had a 1-2 record after suffering disappointing losses to Northwestern and Wake Forest. We felt the media was basically writing us off for Notre Dame and constantÂly critiquing Daniel Jones' play. As a redshirt senior, I highlighted Notre Dame as a "money game." No matter what, if I had a great game against Notre Dame, I would boost my chances of at least getting looked at for the NFL. As selfish as that may sound, that was my perspective and how I viewed that game.
Â
The week of practice leading up to the game was different. There was a different energy. I think as a team we had enough of the embarrassment from losing those two games and the doubt from everybody. When I say everybody, I mean EVERYBODY. The only people who believed that we stood a chance against ND were the ones who were in the Yoh. Even then, not everybody 100 percent believed we could win in South Bend. However, those were the best practices we had as a team that season. I knew we would perform well on the big stage.
Â
That week was huge for me. My birthday was the 20th of September and that Friday the 23rd I got my acceptance letter from the 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 that the game happened the way it did.
Â
Anyway, the morning of September 24 was like any other game day morning. It was a "hype" game for the program (3:30 kickoff on NBC), but it felt like any other game to me. As I reflect on it now, I am surprised that I wasn't more amped up for it. Where I'm from (West Chester, Pa.), you either like Notre Dame or Penn State. My high school's colors are Gold and Navy to represent the Fighting Irish. I actually despised Notre Dame. My only reason was that everybody else 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, haha.
Â
Notre Dame Stadium was sold out, over 80,000 fans, but places like Virginia Tech and LouÂisville blew them out of the park. South Bend was not as rowdy as I would expect 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 pregame "get my mind right" ritual, everything went silent — one of the strangest feelings I ever experienced.
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The game did not start well for us. Notre Dame took it down the field on the first possession and scored with ease. ND then kicked off to us and DeVon Edwards got hurt on a non-contact fall on the kick return. At that point, the soul was already gone from the team before the offense took the field for the first time. DeVon, a senior captain, was such an imporÂtant piece for our team. He was a leader and a playmaker for our defense and especially special teams. DeVon and I came to Duke in the same recruiting class and had some strange bond to always compete against each other during practice. I guess you can say we were low-level recruits who enjoyed competing and getting better. We definitely shared that hunger to be the best we could be. Every year we competed against each other in one-on-one, 7-on-7, and even weightliftÂing and conditioning exercises. When he blew up our redshirt sophomore year, I knew my opportunity would soon follow. He doesn't know this but when he got injured, I was hurt deep down. Honestly, without competing against DeVon for five years, I would not have had the opportunities that I did have. He made me a better player.
Â
Our offense took the field and we went three-and-out. You could tell everybody was stunned from DeVon's injury. Notre Dame again marched down the field and scored. It was 14-0 with 10:45 left in the first quarter. The only thing that went through my head was "here we go again." And then BOOM! Just like out of cannon, Shaun Wilson saved the morale of the team, scoring on an electrifying 96-yard kick return. That was it. That woke us up!
Â
The defense then got a stop and the sideline was amped. D.J. (Daniel Jones) put a great drive together featuring T.J. Rahming, and Jela Duncan punched it in. Just like that, it was 14-14. The first quarter came to an end and we had all of the momentum.
Â
We broke the tie midway through the second quarter with D.J. throwing a beauÂtiful seam 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. He switched positions multiple times and never truly found a home. He worked his butt off and rarely got appreciation for it, in my opinion. It's hard to see guys outwork players and still barely get a chance. It was amazing to see his hard work pay off in South Bend.
Â
Leading up to the end of the second quarter, the game was tied 21-21. ND ended up scoring and we had a chance to put a good drive together and get some points before the half, knowing we'd then receive the ball to start the third quarter. We went to our two-minute and were primarily in a stacked formation. ND had trouble defending this formation with their quarters look. We took a shot earlier at this defense, but the corner did a great job staying over top. However, we caught them again in the perfect alignment for our shot play. D.J. snapped the ball, Quay took the safety with a curl route and that left me one-on-one with free range to the middle of the field. D.J. threw a beauty and that was the half — up 28-21 on Notre Dame at their place. At that moment, we knew we were going to win.
Â
At the start of the fourth quarter, the score was 28-28. We had a good drive going on, but ND ended up stopping us. Then ND scored to make it 35-28. We got the ball back with around eight minutes left. During practice, we had put in a play speÂcifically for a certain type of defense they ran. Their boundary corner showed on tape, multiple times, that he would press but would peek his eyes into the backfield after he would try to jam you. So, we put in a trick play, where D.J. would act like he was running an option play and whenever the corner would bite, he would flip it over. But of course, things don't always go how you plan them. They actually ran a corner blitz and I was kind of confused on what to do. If you watch the video you see me hesitate, because I was like, "This is too good to be true. You did all the work for me!" D.J. hit me and I just streaked up the field; the safety took a terrible angle and I was gone, 64 yards. All you could hear were the Duke parents screaming. It felt even better to do the Irish kick in their end zone.
Â
But the game was only tied. It wasn't like we won. Yeah, that play fortunately worked out for us, but there was more to do. I wanted to WIN! By this time, I think there were six or seven minutes left in the game. Our defense went insane on that drive. I'm pretty sure we had a big tackle for loss and a sack. Deondre Singleton sealed the stop with a crucial interception. He showed his baseball skills with an unnecessary sliding catch. He probably could have picked it off and scored, haha.
Â
As an offense it was up to us to finish the game. We had a great drive. I thought I was going to get my third touchdown but I got shoestring tackled. We ran the time down to 1:27, with a chance for AJ Reed to basically win the game for us on a field goal. I don't remember much before the kick. I know he had some difficulties as a freshman, 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. After he made the 19-yard field goal, the defense sealed the deal with a four-and-out and the Blue Devils came out victorious.
Personally it was like a storybook ending. I had my 24th birthday, got into a doctoral program and beat Notre Dame in South Bend. 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 saw countless videos and photos of the touchÂdowns, celebrations and smiles we all had. It was a great experience.
Â
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The last time Duke visited South Bend, coach David Cutcliffe's squad pulled off a dramatic and significant 38-35 road win. Redshirt freshman quarterback Daniel Jones, in just his fourth college game, threw for 290 yards and three touchdowns. Two of those were caught by redshirt senior Anthony Nash, including a 64-yarder in the fourth quarter that tied the score at 35. Nash provides this inside look at the 2016 Duke-Notre Dame contest.
Â
Leading up to the Notre Dame game, we had a 1-2 record after suffering disappointing losses to Northwestern and Wake Forest. We felt the media was basically writing us off for Notre Dame and constantÂly critiquing Daniel Jones' play. As a redshirt senior, I highlighted Notre Dame as a "money game." No matter what, if I had a great game against Notre Dame, I would boost my chances of at least getting looked at for the NFL. As selfish as that may sound, that was my perspective and how I viewed that game.
Â
The week of practice leading up to the game was different. There was a different energy. I think as a team we had enough of the embarrassment from losing those two games and the doubt from everybody. When I say everybody, I mean EVERYBODY. The only people who believed that we stood a chance against ND were the ones who were in the Yoh. Even then, not everybody 100 percent believed we could win in South Bend. However, those were the best practices we had as a team that season. I knew we would perform well on the big stage.
Â
That week was huge for me. My birthday was the 20th of September and that Friday the 23rd I got my acceptance letter from the 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 that the game happened the way it did.
Â
Anyway, the morning of September 24 was like any other game day morning. It was a "hype" game for the program (3:30 kickoff on NBC), but it felt like any other game to me. As I reflect on it now, I am surprised that I wasn't more amped up for it. Where I'm from (West Chester, Pa.), you either like Notre Dame or Penn State. My high school's colors are Gold and Navy to represent the Fighting Irish. I actually despised Notre Dame. My only reason was that everybody else 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, haha.
Â
Notre Dame Stadium was sold out, over 80,000 fans, but places like Virginia Tech and LouÂisville blew them out of the park. South Bend was not as rowdy as I would expect 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 pregame "get my mind right" ritual, everything went silent — one of the strangest feelings I ever experienced.
Â
The game did not start well for us. Notre Dame took it down the field on the first possession and scored with ease. ND then kicked off to us and DeVon Edwards got hurt on a non-contact fall on the kick return. At that point, the soul was already gone from the team before the offense took the field for the first time. DeVon, a senior captain, was such an imporÂtant piece for our team. He was a leader and a playmaker for our defense and especially special teams. DeVon and I came to Duke in the same recruiting class and had some strange bond to always compete against each other during practice. I guess you can say we were low-level recruits who enjoyed competing and getting better. We definitely shared that hunger to be the best we could be. Every year we competed against each other in one-on-one, 7-on-7, and even weightliftÂing and conditioning exercises. When he blew up our redshirt sophomore year, I knew my opportunity would soon follow. He doesn't know this but when he got injured, I was hurt deep down. Honestly, without competing against DeVon for five years, I would not have had the opportunities that I did have. He made me a better player.
Â
Our offense took the field and we went three-and-out. You could tell everybody was stunned from DeVon's injury. Notre Dame again marched down the field and scored. It was 14-0 with 10:45 left in the first quarter. The only thing that went through my head was "here we go again." And then BOOM! Just like out of cannon, Shaun Wilson saved the morale of the team, scoring on an electrifying 96-yard kick return. That was it. That woke us up!
Â
The defense then got a stop and the sideline was amped. D.J. (Daniel Jones) put a great drive together featuring T.J. Rahming, and Jela Duncan punched it in. Just like that, it was 14-14. The first quarter came to an end and we had all of the momentum.
Â
We broke the tie midway through the second quarter with D.J. throwing a beauÂtiful seam 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. He switched positions multiple times and never truly found a home. He worked his butt off and rarely got appreciation for it, in my opinion. It's hard to see guys outwork players and still barely get a chance. It was amazing to see his hard work pay off in South Bend.
Â
Leading up to the end of the second quarter, the game was tied 21-21. ND ended up scoring and we had a chance to put a good drive together and get some points before the half, knowing we'd then receive the ball to start the third quarter. We went to our two-minute and were primarily in a stacked formation. ND had trouble defending this formation with their quarters look. We took a shot earlier at this defense, but the corner did a great job staying over top. However, we caught them again in the perfect alignment for our shot play. D.J. snapped the ball, Quay took the safety with a curl route and that left me one-on-one with free range to the middle of the field. D.J. threw a beauty and that was the half — up 28-21 on Notre Dame at their place. At that moment, we knew we were going to win.
Â
At the start of the fourth quarter, the score was 28-28. We had a good drive going on, but ND ended up stopping us. Then ND scored to make it 35-28. We got the ball back with around eight minutes left. During practice, we had put in a play speÂcifically for a certain type of defense they ran. Their boundary corner showed on tape, multiple times, that he would press but would peek his eyes into the backfield after he would try to jam you. So, we put in a trick play, where D.J. would act like he was running an option play and whenever the corner would bite, he would flip it over. But of course, things don't always go how you plan them. They actually ran a corner blitz and I was kind of confused on what to do. If you watch the video you see me hesitate, because I was like, "This is too good to be true. You did all the work for me!" D.J. hit me and I just streaked up the field; the safety took a terrible angle and I was gone, 64 yards. All you could hear were the Duke parents screaming. It felt even better to do the Irish kick in their end zone.
Â
But the game was only tied. It wasn't like we won. Yeah, that play fortunately worked out for us, but there was more to do. I wanted to WIN! By this time, I think there were six or seven minutes left in the game. Our defense went insane on that drive. I'm pretty sure we had a big tackle for loss and a sack. Deondre Singleton sealed the stop with a crucial interception. He showed his baseball skills with an unnecessary sliding catch. He probably could have picked it off and scored, haha.
Â
As an offense it was up to us to finish the game. We had a great drive. I thought I was going to get my third touchdown but I got shoestring tackled. We ran the time down to 1:27, with a chance for AJ Reed to basically win the game for us on a field goal. I don't remember much before the kick. I know he had some difficulties as a freshman, 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. After he made the 19-yard field goal, the defense sealed the deal with a four-and-out and the Blue Devils came out victorious.
Personally it was like a storybook ending. I had my 24th birthday, got into a doctoral program and beat Notre Dame in South Bend. 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 saw countless videos and photos of the touchÂdowns, celebrations and smiles we all had. It was a great experience.
Â
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