Final
Freshmen carry Notre Dame over Duke
Nov 18, 2007 - 3:39 AM SOUTH BEND, Indiana (Ticker) -- In a season that will not be remembered in Notre Dame's storied past, freshmen Jimmy Clausen and Robert Hughes gave the Fighting Irish some hope for the future.Clausen threw three touchdown passes and Hughes rushed for 108 yards and a TD as the Fighting Irish snapped a four-game losing streak with a 28-7 victory over lowly Duke on Saturday.
The victory enabled Notre Dame (2-9) to avoid its first winless home season in school history and sent the Blue Devils (1-10) tumbling to their eighth consecutive defeat.
"It's almost like a weight is lifted," Irish coach Charlie Weis said. "Like tonight will be - everyone will have fun. They are going to classes here for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday; they will feel good. They will go home for Thanksgiving. It won't be that you're 2-9; it will be at least they won the game at home. So I felt happy especially for the seniors."
Clausen, who has been shuttled in and out of the starting lineup this season, finished with pedestrian stats - 16-of-32 for 192 yards and zero interceptions.
But the highly touted quarterback threw a pair of decisive 25-yard scoring tosses in the final 77 seconds of the first half to give the Irish a 14-0 lead.
That would be more than enough against bumbling Duke, and it prevented Notre Dame from earning the dubious distinction of being the school's first team in 119 years to lose to a 1-9 opponent.
"I thought if we were up two scores, it was going to be a tough task for the other team to win the way things were going at that time," Weis said. "I think those two scores right before halftime really ... changed the complexion of the game."
Hughes, who had to cope with the murder of his older brother Tony in late October, had his finest game by far, surpassing his previous high of 33 yards against Michigan State.
The 5-11, 238-pounder from Chicago scored on a 13-yard run with 25 seconds left in the third quarter and set up the Fighting Irish's first touchdown with a big gain on fourth down.
"I thought he ran really hard. Thought he ran well," said Duke coach Ted Root of Hughes. "I was very impressed with him, and I thought he ran hard and added some punch to their offense.
Hughes added a 32-yard run in the fourth quarter to set up Clausen's 10-yard TD toss to tight end John Carlson.
Duke avoided a shutout on Zack Asack's six-yard scoring run with just 1:12 to play.
"Jimmy made some great throws. Robert (Hughes) ran hard and made some great plays. And Duval (Kamara) had a heck of a catch in the end zone," Carlson said. "I think it's a glimpse of some things that are to come. I think it's great that they've gotten so much game experience. They've been in the heat of the battle and I think that will help them next year."
Notre Dame capitalized on a pair of fumbles by Duke to scored two touchdowns in the final 1:17 of the first half to take a 14-0 lead.
Duke showed why it entered this one on a seven-game skid, turning prosperity into points for the Irish in the final minutes of the second quarter.
A 15-yard pass from Thaddeus Lewis to Clifford Harris and a facemask penalty gave Duke a first down at Notre Dame's 30-yard line.
On the next three plays, Lewis slipped and fell for a nine-yard loss, overthrew a wide-open Brandon King and fumbled the snap, which the Irish recovered at their own 42.
With Notre Dame facing a 4th-and-1 at Duke's 49, Weis went for it and Hughes broke loose for a 24-yard run.
On the very next play, Clausen threaded a 25-yard scoring pass between two defenders to David Grimes for a 7-0 lead.
The Blue Devils seemed content to head to the locker room with that deficit, but on third down, a short pass into the left flat was fumbled by Jomar Wright at the 25.
Two plays later, Clausen floated a pass to Duval Kamara in the left corner of the end zone for a 14-0 lead with just four seconds to play in the half.
"He's the first quarterback, and he did pretty well today," Blue Devils defensive tackle Vince Oghobaase said of Clausen. "That's our fault as a defense by not taking charge of him. He capitalized on our mistakes and made great big plays down the field for Notre Dame."
- NCAAF FINAL
1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
DUKE 0 0 0 7 7
NOTRE DAME 0 14 7 7 28 FINAL
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: NONE
2ND QUARTER: NOTRE DAME - TD, DAVID GRIMES 25 YD PASS FROM
JIMMY CLAUSEN (BRANDON WALKER
KICK), 13:49. NOTRE DAME 7-0
NOTRE DAME - TD, DUVAL KAMARA 25 YD PASS FROM
JIMMY CLAUSEN (BRANDON WALKER
KICK),
Nov 17 6:16 PM - NCAAF
TD DUKE
ZACK ASACK 6 YD RUN
(NICK MAGGIO KICK)
DUKE 7
NOTRE DAME 28 1:12 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Duke vs. Notre DameNov 17 6:13 PM
TD NOTRE DAME JOHN CARLSON 9 YD PASS FROM JIMMY CLAUSEN (BRANDON WALKER KICK)
Duke vs. Notre DameNov 17 5:50 PM
TD NOTRE DAME JOHN CARLSON 9 YD PASS FROM JIMMY CLAUSEN (BRANDON WALKER KICK)
Duke vs. Notre DameNov 17 5:50 PM
TD NOTRE DAME JOHN CARLSON 9 YD PASS FROM JIMMY CLAUSEN (BRANDON WALKER KICK)
Duke vs. Notre DameNov 17 5:50 PM- NCAAF
TD NOTRE DAME
JOHN CARLSON 9 YD PASS FROM JIMMY CLAUSEN
(BRANDON WALKER KICK)
DUKE 0
NOTRE DAME 28 6:51 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Duke vs. Notre DameNov 17 5:50 PM - NCAAF END, 3RD QTR
1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
DUKE 0 0 0 0
NOTRE DAME 0 14 7 21 END, 3RD QTR
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: NONE
2ND QUARTER: NOTRE DAME - TD, DAVID GRIMES 25 YD PASS FROM
JIMMY CLAUSEN (BRANDON WALKER
KICK), 13:49. NOTRE DAME 7-0
NOTRE DAME - TD, DUVAL KAMARA 25 YD PASS FROM
JIMMY CLAUSEN (BRANDO
Nov 17 5:25 PM - NCAAF
TD NOTRE DAME
ROBERT HUGHES 13 YD RUN
(BRANDON WALKER KICK)
DUKE 0
NOTRE DAME 21 0:25 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Duke vs. Notre DameNov 17 5:21 PM - NCAAF HALFTIME
1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
DUKE 0 0 0
NOTRE DAME 0 14 14 HALFTIME
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: NONE
2ND QUARTER: NOTRE DAME - TD, DAVID GRIMES 25 YD PASS FROM
JIMMY CLAUSEN (BRANDON WALKER
KICK), 13:49. NOTRE DAME 7-0
NOTRE DAME - TD, DUVAL KAMARA 25 YD PASS FROM
JIMMY CLAUSEN (BRANDON WALKER
Nov 17 4:26 PM
TD NOTRE DAME DUVAL KAMARA 25 YD PASS FROM JIMMY CLAUSEN (BRANDON WALKER KICK)
Duke vs. Notre DameNov 17 4:25 PM
TD NOTRE DAME DUVAL KAMARA 25 YD PASS FROM JIMMY CLAUSEN (BRANDON WALKER KICK)
Duke vs. Notre DameNov 17 4:25 PM
TD NOTRE DAME DUVAL KAMARA 25 YD PASS FROM JIMMY CLAUSEN (BRANDON WALKER KICK)
Duke vs. Notre DameNov 17 4:25 PM- NCAAF
TD NOTRE DAME
DUVAL KAMARA 25 YD PASS FROM JIMMY CLAUSEN
(BRANDON WALKER KICK)
DUKE 0
NOTRE DAME 14 0:04 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Duke vs. Notre DameNov 17 4:25 PM
TD NOTRE DAME DAVID GRIMES 25 YD PASS FROM JIMMY CLAUSEN (BRANDON WALKER KICK)
Duke vs. Notre DameNov 17 4:20 PM
TD NOTRE DAME DAVID GRIMES 25 YD PASS FROM JIMMY CLAUSEN (BRANDON WALKER KICK)
Duke vs. Notre DameNov 17 4:20 PM
TD NOTRE DAME DAVID GRIMES 25 YD PASS FROM JIMMY CLAUSEN (BRANDON WALKER KICK)
Duke vs. Notre DameNov 17 4:20 PM- NCAAF
TD NOTRE DAME
DAVID GRIMES 25 YD PASS FROM JIMMY CLAUSEN
(BRANDON WALKER KICK)
DUKE 0
NOTRE DAME 7 1:11 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Duke vs. Notre DameNov 17 4:20 PM - NCAAF END, 1ST QTR
1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
DUKE 0 0
NOTRE DAME 0 0 END, 1ST QTR
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: NONE
Nov 17 3:32 PM
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