The Irish Beat Duke, Win First Home Game

Freshmen Save "Senior Day"

By John Mooney

Avoiding the embarrassment of playing an entire season without a victory at home, Notre Dame (2-9) beat Duke 28-7 as the much-maligned Irish defense narrowly missed out on its first shutout in five years. It was a sloppy game against a bad team, but a win is a win.

Three freshmen led the way on a rainy "Senior Day." Notre Dame QB Jimmy Claussen threw for 194 yards and three touchdowns (the second straight game he had thrown for three scores).

Robert Hughes became the first freshman since Darius Walker in 2004 to rush for over 100 yards as he ran for 110 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Duval Kamara added a touchdown catch.

"I feel happy, especially for the seniors. It's not just the fact that they're 0-6 at home going into this game. It was the fact it was their last game ever in the stadium," Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis said. "(The win) isn't just for the players; it's for the student body and everyone else. It's like a weight has been lifted."

The game was scoreless until late in the second quarter when a pair of Duke fumbles opened the door for Notre Dame. Claussen's 25-yard pass to David Grimes with 1:12 left in the half capped a drive that covered 58 yards in five plays.

Following a second Duke fumble in the last two minutes, Claussen again led his team to the end zone with a second 25-yard TD pass, this time to Duval Kamara.

The Irish led the stunned Blue Devils 14-0 at halftime.

Late in the third quarter, Robert Hughes scored on a 13-yard run, to put the Irish up by three touchdowns. Notre Dame took the lead to 28-0 midway through the final quarter when senior TE John Carlson caught a 9-yard scoring strike from Claussen. It looked like the Irish might be able to hold on for the shutout, until Duke's backup quarterback Zack Asack scored on a 6-yard run with little more than a minute left in the game.

"It's very disappointing," Duke coach Ted Roof said. "It was 0-0 and then they got 14 points in the last minute in the first half."

Notre Dame Notes

Senior safety Tom Zbikowski, a former high school quarterback, had a dream come true as he took a few snaps at the end of the game. "It was a rough season, but you'll always remember your last game at home," Zbikowski said.

"He's been on me for three years about getting a few snaps in there," said Weis, who also put seniors who had not played much into the game.

Notre Dame ran the ball for more than 100 yards for just the third time, finishing with 220 on 48 carries overall.

Duke (1-10) is having a worse season than Notre Dame. The Blue Devils have lost their eighth straight after beating Northwestern earlier this year. They rank last in the nation in rushing yardage.

Notre Dame's final contest of the year will be Saturday, Nov. 24 vs. Stanford in Palo Alto, CA. The game starts at 3:30 EST.