The Anti-Preview: Notre Dame VS Duke

Oh friends, we are in a bit of a pickle this week. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are 1-2, unranked, and have as good of a chance of making the playoffs as any other school in the state of Indiana. People everywhere are calling for Brian VanGorder’s immediate firing, the offensive line most likely was overrated, and now the Duke Blue Devils come to town.

The biggest storyline may very well be that both teams are trying to avoid starting the season 1-3.

Duke

A lacrosse school that has posed as a basketball school for over two decades does indeed play football, and is a member of the ACC. Unlike many programs like this across the country, Duke actually has a great football coach with David Cutcliffe. It’s because of this that has me worried. Duke is actually quite awful right now and failed to score more than 14 points in games against Wake Forest and Northwestern, but as we have seen in the past- none of that really matters when playing Notre Dame.

What Should You Be Eating And Drinking?

Oh, this is the most #goacc Anti-Preview of the year, and because of that, the lines have become blurred.

And while we are certainly putting this combo together for #goacc reasons, I understand that you may need further refreshment when you just finally tear open a giant 64 ounce bag of shredded cheese from Costco.

What Should You Be Wearing?

Not to go totally elitist old school here, but this category this week allows some separate choices for each sex. (This will be my favorite outfit of the year for the Anti-Previews AND THAT’S A SCIENTIFIC FACT- because you’ll need to measure for length here).

And for the ladies:

What’s The Best Thing About This Game?

As with almost everything in the Anti-Preview, the best thing about this weeks game isn’t really the game at all. The word, “spectacle” is what mostly comes to mind, and although that comes with a negative connotation, there is nothing remotely negative about the best thing this week.

For more information on this amazing class in California, please check out the Twitter feed from the tweets above. When you start thinking about some of the awful crap going on this season, just remember that these kids don’t care and they’re fired up. You should be fired up too.

DISCLAIMER: They may result in an NCAA violation.

5 Reasons To Hate Duke

1. Duke won the national championship in basketball in 2015 despite Notre Dame winning the ACC Championship by beating the Blue Devils twice.
2. Losing to Duke in lacrosse at any moment.
3. Duke is more #goacc
4. They’re on the schedule.
5. They have the potential to send this program back to 2007 levels of OH MY GOD WE ARE ALL GOING TO CRASH INTO A MOUNTAIN.

Shamrock Stars

Dexter Williams. Perhaps I’m bored with the offerings, but I’m reaching into the depth chart and ready to watch a hot hand start from an ember and turn into an inferno. Not only does Dex get them on the ground, but a few screens, AND making Duke pay the price for kicking it away from CJ Sanders. Awesome assist there CJ!

Daelin Hayes. I predicted two sacks for Hayes in this weeks Notre Dame Haiku, and I’m not backing down. Enough said.

At the end of the day...

Notre Dame gets back on track against a team that is perfectly built to do that. It’s one of those boxing matches that a big time heavyweight schedule to get the knockout because his feelings got hurt when he lost against a better opponent immediately prior to this meeting. For real, Notre Dame 52, Duke 20.