Blue Devils get their kick, defeat Irish (1-3) on road

Duke wide receiver T.J. Rahming (center) runs past three Notre Dame defenders after catching a pass Saturday during the Blue Devils’ 38-35 victory over Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.
Duke wide receiver T.J. Rahming (center) runs past three Notre Dame defenders after catching a pass Saturday during the Blue Devils’ 38-35 victory over Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- AJ Reed kicked a 19-yard field goal with 1:24 left as Duke rallied back from an early two-touchdown deficit to beat host Notre Dame 38-35 on Saturday.

Reed had missed all three of his field goal attempts this season before kicking the game winner. Duke Coach David Cutcliffe, who opted to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the 19 early in the fourth quarter and failed, said he didn't hesitate to let Reed attempt the field goal, saying the team had confidence in him.

"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," he said.

Reed said he knew his teammates were behind him.

"They were all telling me that they had my back and that they knew I was going to get it done for them," he said.

Daniel Jones threw for three touchdowns, including a 64-yard scoring pass to Anthony Nash midway through the fourth quarter to tie the score as Duke beat the Irish for just the second time. The first victory was in their first meeting, a 9-7 victory in Durham, N.C., in 1958. Jones was 24 of 32 passing for 290 yards and Duke rushed for 208 yards.

With DeVon Edwards out with what likely is a season-ending knee injury sustained on Notre Dame's first kickoff, Shaun Wilson returned a kickoff 96 yards for a score to spark the Blue Devils (2-2) after they fell behind 14-0. The Duke defense set up the final touchdown when it sacked DeShone Kizer for a 7-yard loss at the 5-yard line and Deondre Singleton intercepted a pass at the Notre Dame 45.

The Irish defense continued to struggle, giving up 30 or more points against Power Five teams for the seventh time in their last nine games. The student section chanted "Fire VanGorder," referring to defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder.

Notre Dame Coach Brian Kelly said the coaching of the defense is one of the few areas he wasn't disappointed in, saying he doesn't think it was a factor in the outcome. He said Duke was grittier and more determined than the Irish, who opened the season ranked No. 10.

"I told our guys, essentially, that we're going in the wrong direction. We're not going to continue to go in this direction. We'll have to reevaluate what we're doing, who we're doing it with, and how we're doing it," he said.

In other games involving Atlantic Coast Conference teams, Mitch Trubisky capped a huge day by throwing a 2-yard touchdown pass to Bug Howard with 2 seconds left to help North Carolina (3-1, 1-0) rally past Pittsburgh (2-2, 0-1) 37-36. ... Quarterback Patrick Towles passed for two touchdowns and added two more on the ground as Boston College (2-2) defeated Wagner 42-10 in Boston. ... Kurt Benkert threw five touchdown passes, the last three after Virginia (1-3) had squandered all of a 28-0 lead, and the Cavaliers gave Coach Bronco Mendenhall his 100th career victory, 49-35 over Central Michigan (3-1) in Charlottesville, Va. ... Jerod Evans threw three touchdown passes and rushed for one to lift Virginia Tech (3-1) over East Carolina (2-2) 54-17 in Blacksburg, Va.

Sports on 09/25/2016

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