Duke football has a chance to make a statement on Saturday night with a win over Notre Dame. The Blue Devils, at 4-0, will host the Fighting Irish in Durham for one of the biggest college football games in program history.
Head coach Mike Elko took over the program last season and led one of the greatest first-year turnarounds of all-time. Duke won three games in 2021. It won nine games, including the Military Bowl, in 2022.
Now, even though it is early in year two, Elko has his team in a position to compete for the ACC championship. A win over Notre Dame would go a very long way for those conference title hopes.
Quarterback Riley Leonard, who burst onto the scene last fall with nearly 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns passing and 700 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground, is off to another strong start as a junior. Should the Blue Devils continue to win, it would be hard to keep his name out of the Heisman Trophy conversation.
However, that is not the focus.
Elko, Leonard and Duke don’t care about individual accolades. They don’t care about anything but winning — as a team, together.
It doesn’t matter who they are playing. They are focused on themselves.
That made for a hilarious dichotomy during a promotional segment on ESPN. Some selective editing made it rather ironic.
Notre Dame and Duke see things differently.
Jacob Monk, a graduate offensive lineman for the Blue Devils, spoke to how his team is “not about the other programs and the other teams we play.” They are “about us.”
And then the clip cut to Fighting Irish wide receiver Jaden Greathouse. He said that “we’re a great program, so playing us is like everybody’s Super Bowl.”
Monk made it clear that Duke is not worried about Notre Dame or the status of its name and history of its program. Greathouse said that every team Notre Dame faces is focused on the status of its name and history of its program. Uhhhh…… awkward!