There were very few people who gave the Duke Blue Devils a shot versus Notre Dame in South Bend.  In fact, Duke was a 20 point underdog and coming off two lack luster losses.

But on Saturday, Duke Gang as they are call themselves regrouped to stun Notre Dame 38-35 and even their season record at 2-2.  It was a day when pretty much everything went right and that in itself was a far cry from the two losses on the season.

Duke won the battle of turnovers 3-1 and they had 3 sacks to the 1 for the Irish.  When they needed a stop on defense there was an interception, quarterback rush or deflected pass.  And it was a field goal which actually won the game.

But there was more, including big plays and playmakers both which have been missing.  A just tuned 19-year-old quarterback in Daniel Jones tossing the ball for a big Touchdown pass to senior Anthony Nash was like a bolt of lightning.  After falling behind 35-28, Duke used three plays and a 64 yard scamper down the sidelines electrified the Blue Devils sideline to tie the game.

This was a day when Duke fell behind 14-0, lost their kickoff specialist DeVon Edwards, possibly for the season.  Yet Duke showed off depth as Shaun Wilson set the day in motion for Duke with his 96 yard touchdown return.

Duke would later add a solid drive where Jela Duncan ran for 18 yards and a score.  Duncan led all rushers on the day 121 yards and Duke out gained the Irish 208 to 153 yards on the day which reflects on the offensive line.

While we are on the offensive front, they allowed just one sack and protected Daniel Jones.  That allowed the first year quarterback to throw for 24 of 42 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns.  He did have an interception which was one of the few mistakes the Blue Devils committed on the day.  In fact, the team has one single penalty.

And then there was the game winning field goal from AJ Reed who had missed three field goal attempts and an extra point coming into the game.  On this day, he was on the mark and can now build on the fact he hit a game winner on the road against Notre Dame.

In fact, the Duke staff can build on this game after a great effort and the team can as well.  The seniors will have some bounce in their step, while a lot of young players grew up and more confident.

Just when everybody had written Duke off, they played their way back into the season.  In the process, they gave their fans hope and will now come home looking to get on the winning side of things.

You cannot count the ways in which this win helped Duke Football. The team knew they were better than their showing to date and the staff stepped it up too,

Now that they know what they are capable of there is a need for consistency.  Today, Duke showed resiliency and won a big road game against a storied opponent.  The got better.  They played with heart.  They played with focus.  And the program which has gone to four consecutive bowl games. got their mojo back.

It was a big win for the program.