An Entertaining Day, Impressive Effort & Close Loss

Duke students show their spirit during the ESPN GameDay broadcast

The Duke football team and its fans took to the national stage Saturday night and put on a great show, both on ESPN GameDay and in a last-minute 21-14 loss to Notre Dame that earned plaudits and respect from national observers.

Hundreds of Duke students and fans showed their spirit throughout Saturday and cheered on actor/comedian Ken Jeong, a Duke alumnus, who memorably entertained with his college football picks during the show.

Duke alumnus Ken Jeong gives his celebrity picks on ESPN GameDay.
Duke coach Mike Elko chats with ESPN host Pat McAfee on his Friday show.
Duke students brought their Duke pride to the GameDay broadcast.
Aerial photo of the GameDay site during set-up on Friday.

Gametime

No. 17 Duke led No. 11 Notre Dame 14-13 late in the fourth quarter, but the visiting Fighting Irish scored on a 30-yard touchdown rush with 31 seconds remaining to edge the Blue Devils, 21-14, Saturday night at a sold-out Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium.

Saturday began with ESPN College Football GameDay's first visit to Duke's campus, and ended with a classic, top-25 matchup that was decided in the closing seconds. Duke rallied from down 10-0 at halftime, and 13-0 in the second half, to grab a 14-13 lead thanks to a third-quarter touchdown from Jordan Waters and a fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Riley Leonard to Jordan Moore with 9:17 to play.

The loss was Duke's (4-1) first this season, snapping a six-game winning streak that began last season, while the Fighting Irish improved to 5-1.

Jordan Moore and Riley Leonard celebrate touchdown.