Notre Dame Opponent Recap: Week Six

A look at how Notre Dame's 2020 opponents fared during week six of the college football season

It was a good weekend for Notre Dame’s opponents, at least the ACC teams. Six of Notre Dame’s opponents played each other, so obviously they went 3-3 against each other. Two ACC opponents - Clemson and North Carolina - played non-Notre Dame opponents, and they both won.

Irish opponents went 5-4 on the weekend, not counting Florida State, of course. Notre Dame’s opponents are currently 21-23 on the season.

Here’s a run down of how Notre Dame’s 2020 opponents fared this weekend:

DUKE BLUE DEVILS (1-4) at SYRACUSE ORANGE (1-3)

Result: Duke won 38-24

Duke got off the schneid on the road against the Orange. The Blue Devils dominated on the ground, racking up 363 yards thanks to a pair of 100-yard performances from Deon Jackson (169 yards) and Mataeo Durant (163 yards). Quarterback Chase Brice had a solid performance, throwing for 270 yards and a pair of scores. The Duke defense held Syracuse to just 28 rushing yards.

Syracuse jumped out to a 14-10 lead thanks to a fumble return for a score, but Duke scored 14 unanswered to take a 24-14 lead into halftime. Syracuse closed it to six points early in the fourth quarter, but Duke put together a 12-play, 75-yard drive in response to ice the game.

The Syracuse offense continued its season-long struggles. Syracuse is averaging just 19.3 points per game, and this game marked the third time in four games the offense has been held to under 300 yards.

SOUTH FLORIDA (1-3) vs. EAST CAROLINA PIRATES (1-2)

Result: ECU won 44-24

South Florida finally figured out how to throw the football, passing for 306 yards against the Pirates. The problem is the run game got shut down (92 yards), and the Bull defense gave up 210 rushing yards of its own.

ECU jumped all over South Florida, taking a 24-7 lead early in the second quarter. South Florida responded with a quick 80-yard drive, but ECU turned a muffed USF punt into a score that made it a 31-14 game before the half. East Carolina coasted the rest of the way.

LOUISVILLE CARDINALS (1-3) at GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS (2-2)

Result: Georgia Tech won 46-27

Louisville had more first downs than Georgia Tech (24-19), more total yards than Georgia Tech (471-450) and out-rushed the Yellow Jackets (242-192). The difference in the game was the fact Louisville also had more turnovers (3-0).

The Cardinals jumped out to a 21-7 lead in the second quarter, but Georgia Tech responded with a quick 75-yard scoring drive that took just four plays and began with a 41-yard run from freshman running back Jahmyr Gibbs.

An early third quarter fumble allowed Georgia Tech to take a 26-21 lead. Louisville answered, but two possessions later another Louisville fumble gave the Jackets the ball near midfield. Four plays later, Georgia Tech scored to make it a 32-27 game. Louisville punted on its next possession, and Georgia Tech marched the ball down the field for a score to take a commanding lead that it would not relent.

Louisville is off to a surprising 1-3 start while the Jackets are one win away from matching their 2019 total.

PITTSBURGH PANTHERS (3-2) at BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES (3-1)

Result: BC won 31-30 in overtime

This was a fun game to watch. Pitt kicker Alex Kessman nailed a 58-yard field with less than a minute left in regulation, but it was his missed extra point in overtime that clinched it for the Eagles.

The two teams traded scores in the first half. Boston College took a 10-7 lead in the second quarter on a 44-yard scoring strike from quarterback Phil Jurkovec to Zay Flowers. Pitt answered quickly to regain the lead before Jurkovec scored on a 4th-and-Goal play from the 2-yard line late in the second quarter to give the Eagles a 17-14 half-time lead.

On the second play of the third quarter, Jurkovec again went deep, hitting Flowers over the top for a 77-yard touchdown to make it 24-14. BC tried to ice the game, but Pittsburgh scored the final 10 points of regulation to tie it up.

Jurkovec hit Flowers for a 25-yard touchdown to start the overtime session, but Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett answered with a 3-yard score to Taysir Mack. Kessman’s missed extra point ended the game.

Jurkovec finished the game with 358 passing yards and four touchdowns. Flowers caught six passes for 162 yards and three touchdowns.

CLEMSON TIGERS (4-0) vs. MIAMI HURRICANES (3-1)

Result: Clemson won 42-17

In a matchup of Top 10 teams, the defending ACC champs (five years running) out-classed Miami. The Hurricanes battled early, but their offense was no match for the Tigers. Clemson dominated in every way, and the score could have been much worse.

Clemson out-gained Miami 550-210, had 34 first downs to Miami’s nine and out-rushed Miami 258-89. Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence passed for 292 yards and three scores, and added another rushing touchdown. Running back Travis Etienne rushed for 149 yards (two scores) and added 73 receiving yards on eight catches.

Miami quarterback D’Eriq King battled, but his supporting cast didn’t help much. King had 84 rushing yards and a touchdown, but he was picked off twice and the rest of the offense rushed for just five yards. Miami also committed 15 penalties and turned the ball over three times.

NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS (3-0) vs. VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES (2-1)

Result: North Carolina won 56-45

North Carolina’s offense scuffled in the first two games, but they certainly woke up against a depleted Virginia Tech defense. North Carolina racked up 31 first downs, 656 yards of offense (399 rushing, 257 passing) and averaged 9.9 yards per play.

The Tar Heels took a 35-14 lead into halftime, but Virginia Tech outscored them 23-7 in the third quarter to make it a 42-37 game. North Carolina responded immediately, scoring on each of its next two drives to retake control of the game.

After playing mediocre ball in his first two games, talented sophomore Sam Howell looked more like what we saw of him in 2019. Howell went 18-23 for 257 yards and three scores. North Carolina was especially good on the ground, with Michael Carter rushing for 214 yards and Javonte Williams rushed for 169 yards; both scored two touchdowns.

The Tar Heel defense had a rough time, giving up 495 yards. North Carolina also committed 10 penalties.

Wake Forest had a bye this week.

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